Voting started Saturday in Bosnia's general elections in which a multi-ethnic, reformist force threatens Muslim nationalists, while in the Serb-run entity nationalists emerged as favorites.
In Bosnia's third general elections since the 1992-95 war some 2.5 million eligible voters are to elect representatives to the central parliament.
They will also elect MPs to the country's two post war entities -- the Muslim-Croat Federation and the Republika Srpska (RS) -- assemblies. In the RS the voters will also elect a president.
The multi-ethnic Social Democratic Party (SDP), focused on economic rather than ethnic issues, is expected to end the supremacy of nationalists within the Muslim community.
The SDP is likely to emerge as a dominant force in both the central and the Muslim-Croat Federation parliament, however without an absolute majority in either house.
In the RS, the nationalist Serb Democratic Party, also focusing on economic recovery, led the race for both the RS parliament and presidency, as the ruling moderates have failed to refloat the entity's flagging economy.
On the polling day Bosnian Croat nationalists organized a "referendum" on Croats' rights in Bosnia, which the international community described as a violation of electoral rules.
Some 3,600 polling stations opened at 7:00 am (0600 GMT) and were due to close at 7:00 pm (1800 GMT).
The elections are being supervised by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), expected to give the results in a few days.
The parties were hoping to give earliest estimations late Saturday – SARAJEVO (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
