LOCAL PRESS

Djuric: Every measure must be taken to protect Decani (Tanjug)
The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric has condemned the ISIS and Kosovo Liberation Army graffiti inside the monastery compound in Visoki Decani, southern Kosovo and Metohija, demanding that KFOR boost military protection and that those responsible be identified and brought to justice as soon as possible. The disturbing graffiti inside the UNESCO-protected monastery compound are causing great concern, Djuric said, urging the international community to take the threats very seriously and take all measures necessary to protect the monastery. Serbia will do everything to protect the Serbian cultural heritage in Kosovo and Metohija and Serbian churches and monasteries, and put an end to the harassment and intimidation against Serbs in the province, he said. “Messages such as those that today appeared on the auxiliary buildings of the monastery certainly heighten the fear and trepidation among the Serb population in the province,” Djuric said. The Visoki Decani has been targeted by grenade attacks four times so far, the brotherhood of the monastery has been threatened on multiple occasions, while graffiti associated with the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army have also been daubed on the monastery gate in the past, Djuric said. “In spite of this, the monastery’s brotherhood has always strived to promote peace and tolerance for all residents of Kosovo and Metohija,” Djuric said.

Djuric: Formation of working groups for resolving IDP issues (Tanjug)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric has stated that the time of big words has passed when it comes to the resolution of the status of IDPs from Kosovo and Metohija and announced the formation of a working group of relevant domestic and international institutions that will deal with this issue. “Representatives of all organizations agree that the return to Kosovo and Metohija has been at a symbolic level so far and that it is necessary to undertake additional notes. The agreement is that all these organizations undertake a joint initiative and form a working group that will meet regularly, jointly define goals and monitor the achievement of concrete results,” said Djuric. According to him, only 10 percent of 250,000 IDPs have returned to Kosovo and Metohija, which is, as he put it, a very small number. “We need to join forces since only this way greater number of people will return to Kosovo and Metohija,” said Djuric. The Head of the UNHCR Office for Serbia Eduardo Arboleda has stated that the initiative for the formation of a working group is excellent, because it often happens that this organization, as he put it, is working alone on the return of displaced. “It is necessary that all relevant factors are included in this process, primarily because the return to Kosovo and Metohija requires funding, political will and resolution of security issues,” said Arboleda. He said he hoped the inclusion of all relevant factors would create a plan that will enable IDPs a choice between returning to Kosovo and staying where they had been displaced.

Constitutional amendments to wait for resolution of key issues with Pristina (Novosti)

The passing of the constitutional law on Kosovo and Metohija will probably be on the agenda only when Belgrade and Pristina resolve the key open issues through dialogue, because this regulation will reflect on the reached agreements in Brussels. However, the question is whether its content will also influence the possible amendment of the Constitutional preamble whereby Kosovo and Metohija is defined as “essential autonomy” within Serbia. The Chair of the Serbian parliament’s Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun spoke with Novosti about the dilemma whether the passing of the constitutional law on the southern province can also lead to the amendment of formulations in the Constitution that regard Kosovo and its preamble: “The law will adapt to the reality on the ground, but this doesn’t mean waiver of the formulation that Kosovo and Metohija is an integral part of Serbia. This regulation should “recognize” the Union of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo and Metohija, define relations with this Union and its funding.” According to Drecun, it would be best not to pass the law before solutions for key open issues with Pristina are found in the dialogue, so later on we don’t need to have new regulations. Former head of the negotiating team with Pristina Borislav Stefanovic (Democratic Party) says that the constitutional law should define changes resulting from the negotiating process, but also the international presence in Kosovo and Metohija that differs from the one in 1999 and even in 2006: “The law should refer to the Union of Serb Municipalities, but also to the treatment of the Kosovo entity that is practically no longer in the political and legal Serbian system.” But, does all this mean that the formulation “essential autonomy” is on shaky grounds, Stefanovic says: “It is a big question. The law certainly needs to define the basic concepts and powers of Belgrade, as well as how the status of entities is viewed. The passing of the law doesn’t require amendment of the preamble of the Constitution, but we will see its content in the following period.”

REGIONAL PRESS

Preliminary data of the CEC in B&H: Izetbegovic, Cvijanovic and Covic in the B&H Presidency (Oslobodjenje)

The candidate of the Party for Democratic Action (PDA) for the Bosniak member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Presidency, Bakir Izetbegovic, is leading the race with 194.455 votes for the Bosniak member of the B&H Presidency. The Central Election Commission (CEC) stated that so far data from 2.496 out of the 3.262 polling places has been counted, or 76.52 percent. Trailing him is the Union for Better Future (SBB) of B&H candidate, Fahrudin Radoncic with 156.469 votes, while the third is the Democratic Front’s – DF, Emir Suljagic with 88.507 votes. The Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) candidate for Bosniak member of the B&H Presidency, Bakir Hadziomerovic has 58.955 votes, while the B&H Patriotic Party’s (BPS) candidate, Sefer Halilovic has 51.108 votes. In the race for the Serbian member of the B&H Presidency the independent candidate Mustafa Ceric from Coalition of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, Democratic National Alliance and Socialist Party (SNSD-DNS-SP) has 154.656 votes, counted from the 1.167 out of 2.243 polling places, or 52.03 percent. Trailing him is Mladen Ivanic from the Coalition for Change – CC with 153.446 votes. The race for Croatian member of the B&H Presidency shows the Croatian Democratic Union’s (HDZ) candidate, Dragan Covic is leading with 88.994 votes, counted from 2.496 out of the 3.262 polling places, or 76.52 percent. Trailing him is Martin Raguz, a Croatian Democratic Union 1990 (HDZ) 1990 candidate, with 67.948 votes.

Dodik reelected as head of Serb entity in Bosnia (Nezavisne novine/B92)

The RS President Milorad Dodik will remain in office for another four years after achieving a narrow victory in Sunday’s election. The Central Election Commission confirmed this, saying that according to preliminary results, he received 264,051 votes (47.1 percent), while Ognjen Tadic received 253,211 (45.16 percent). Earlier in the day, the local media in Banja Luka reported that according to unofficial results of the general election and based on 99.99 percent of ballots counted, Dodik won 300,128 votes. According to the same source, his rival Ognjen Tadic of the Alliance for Change won 289,680 votes. The turnout in the RS was 56.94 percent. Dodik late on Sunday declared victory of the SNSD candidate for the Serb member of the B&H Presidency, Zeljka Cvijanovic, and said he would declare his own victory in half an hour – but did not do so. On Monday, he told B92 that he “felt like a victor because he had an advantage of 11,000 votes,” but that the outcome of the race for the presidency post was “very uncertain”. Official results are still awaited, while the deadline for the election commission to declare the final results is 11 November.

Lagumdzija: Citizens have decided, we congratulate SDA (Oslobodjenje)

The B&H Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) President, Zlatko Lagumdzija, gave a statement to the press and commented on the preliminary results of the general election in 2014. The SDP has not achieved the results it wanted, and our candidate for member of the B&H Presidency was not favored by voters. “I thank everyone who came out to vote, especially those voters who voted for Bakir Hadziomerovic and the SDP on all levels. Hadziomerovic has done a lot of work, and even though he hasn’t won the Presidency he has made a grand entrance onto the B&H political scene”, Lagumdzija said while congratulating the winners. “For now there is the SDA. Who else will join, we don’t know yet, but they will have our congratulations. We still believe that the SDP represents a political force which will fight for people’s hopes, so that they can believe that we can do better, and for them to become a future political force for a hope and a better, united B&H”, Lagumdzija said and added that today’s results are not something that will lead in that direction. “The SDP is democratically going into opposition”, Lagumdzija said and added that the most important thing is for B&H to remain a united country. “We call on the winners to, as soon as possible, form local governments on all levels, in accordance with the results. Tomorrow, in all institutions where there are SDP members we will list everything we are handing over and hand it over as soon as possible so that they can continue working in the interest of B&H citizens”, Lagumdzija said. He added that he, as President, was most responsible for these results.

Ministry of Internal Affairs of RS: Several cases of violation of electoral process reported (Dnevni avaz)

The PR of this entity’s police, Mirna Soja stated today that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republika Srpska (RS) has informed the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) in B&H about several new events which have been reported to the police during the day. At 3:10 pm in Nevesinje, public peace and order was violated by an unknown man who verbally insulted the President of the Polling Commission. At the scene police officers found the man mentioned and identified him, and then proceeded to follow him out of the premises of the polling place. A request for filling misdemeanor charges will be filed against him. At 4:00 pm a citizen came into the Laus police station and reported criminal charges against a man. He stated that at 1:00 pm, at the Municipal Community Office in Pavic, this man, with 20 unknown others disrupted the voting process at that polling place. An investigation was conducted through the police officer in charge of securing the said location and it was concluded that he did not notice the reported event. The police station in Gradiska received complaints of violations of peace and order at the polling place in Berek, at 3:40 pm, where a man physically attacked a person overseeing the elections, a member of the SDP, and struck a blow with his fist to the man’s face. Police officers removed the perpetrator from the scene and they will process him in accordance with the Law on Public Peace and Order. At 4:00 pm in Prijebljezi, near Strbac, a man, under the influence of alcohol, verbally disrupted the voting process, resulting in the voting being suspended for 15 minutes. Police officers brought him in and are holding him till he sobers up. A request for commencing misdemeanor charges is to be filled. At 5:00 pm the President of the Board for the Safety of the National Parliament (BSNP) of the RS informed the Electoral Headquarters of the MIP-RS that he received an anonymous report stating that in the café in Banjaluka, someone is openly directing people how to vote. Police officers investigated these accusations and found them to be untrue. At 5:45 pm the Election Headquarters of the MIP got information that there was an incident at the police station in Bjeljina – where an unknown man verbally insulted members of the Electoral Board. After they find the accused the police will commence appropriate legal measures against him in accordance with the Law on Public Peace and Order. At 1:40 pm, the police station in Vlasenica got a report that at the polling place in Piskavice there was a violation of public peace and order, where a man cursed and insulted members of the Commission. The man was later identified and charged with a misdemeanor in accordance with the Law on Public Peace and Order. At 5:15 pm the police station in Pale got a report that an unknown man came to the polling place in Pale and tried to use another man’s identification with the intention of voting. The members of the Electoral Board concluded that he was intending to misuse another’s identity and vote. The man then threw away the identification and proceeded away from the polling place in an unknown direction. Operational work is being done in order to identify and find the said individual. The security situation in the RS is good.

Numerous complaints of citizens against the SDA (Dnevni avaz)

The mobile units of the “Under the Magnifying Glass” Coalition by 6:00 pm had visited more than 550 polling places. The Coalition “Under the Magnifying Glass” stated that the most common irregularities they found are related to voting with invalid identification, simultaneous placement of all votes into the electoral box, assistance from the Electoral Board for citizens to vote in the booth, families voting together, “professional” helpers, political agitation by activists of political parties in the vicinity of polling places, and the presence of political party posters within 50 meters of the polling places. The mobile units reported more than 50 critical situations to the Electoral Commissions, the most common situation being prevention of the Coalition’s overseers to come into the polling place, as well as those situations pertaining to removal of empty ballots from the polling place (for instance, Bihac and Livno, prevention of overseeing numerous collected ballots before opening up of the polling places, voters being driven to and voting at polling places they don’t belong to (Stolac), voting for others (Stolac), and avoiding reading out loud the names of voters when identifying them (Brcko). They have received several complaints from Jajce that there are more than 2 persons at a time in voting booths. From Doboj, Municipal Community Offices of Mitrovici polling place, an overseer reported that party overseers are making offers to “turn a blind eye” during counting of votes and making deals about how to divide the votes.

Members of SBB Electoral Boards filed more than 50 complaints (Dnevni avaz)

Members of Members of the Union for Better Future (SBB) Electoral Boards, across B&H, have filed more than 50 complaints to the Municipal Electoral Commissions (MEC) and to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC). These complaints center on violations of the Electoral Law and cases of disturbances of the voting process in the general election 2014. At the polling place in Jablanica a member of the Electoral Board, allowed persons with invalid identification to vote, which is contrary to the clear provisions of the Electoral Law of B&H. We have found out that one person who was allowed to vote in this illegal manner was his wife, which additionally violates the provisions of the Electoral Law of B&H stipulating that members of the Electoral Boards cannot be the decision makers in situations that entail a conflict of interest. Another example that should be mentioned is one noted at the Zeljezno Polje polling place in the Municipality of Zepca. About 20 unknown persons came into the polling place around 5 or 6 times and deposited ballots in favor of the SDA. At one polling place an empty ballot was found during inspection of the voting booths. In Breza, in the place of Bulbulusici (Kamenica), at around 10:00 am, a member of the Electoral Board spoke out loud and slandered the SBB candidate for the Presidency of B&H, Fahrudin Radoncic, but in favor of Bakir Izetbegovic. In Sarajevo there were cases of so called “phantom overseers”. Namely, overseers from other political parties represented themselves as SBB overseers, and thus prevented the SBB overseers to be there. Additionally, we must mention the case noted in the Municipality of Center – Sarajevo, polling place in Skenderija. In this case the “Bulgarian Train” method was attempted, where empty ballots are retracted and previously filled in ballots deposited. In the Sarajevo Municipality of Novi Grad there were several complaints. Among other, at the polling place 056, during inspection of the polling place a ballot was found which was deposited as a valid ballot even though the person who reported it, a member of the Electoral Board, protested against this. At the polling place in Novi Grad, during inspection of a ballot box the President of the Electoral Board and two other members prevented other members of the Electoral Board to also inspect the polling box. In that same Municipality, the doorman of the Elementary School publicly politically agitated voters to vote for the SDA, and in several cases, specifically in Sarajevo, we noted cases where Bakir Izetbegovic’s posters were located in the immediate vicinity of the polling places. In Buzima, one person held on to their ballot refusing to deposit it in the box, which is a standard part of vote theft in the “Bulgarian Train” method. We also noted a case in Orasje where the name of a person, who lives abroad, was listed among the voters even though this person never registered to vote. In Ilidza, polling place Osijek a voter took 4 sets of ballots and deposited only 3 – meaning he tried to leave the polling place with one whole set of empty ballots and apply the “Bulgarian Train” method.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Islamist Graffiti at Kosovo Serb Monastery Sparks Anger (BIRN, by Nektar Zogjani, 13 October 2014)

Politicians in Pristina and Belgrade condemned the spray painting of Islamic State and Kosovo Liberation Army graffiti on the medieval Serbian Orthodox monastery of Visoki Decani.

Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga condemned the vandalism at the 14th century monastery in western Kosovo, a UNESCO world heritage site which has long been the focus for disputes between Serbs and Kosovo Albanians.

Such acts of vandalism “do not contribute to building good relations among communities and are in conflict with the values of inter-religious and ethnic tolerance as the basis of our state”, Jahjaga said.

“Caliphate is coming”, “IS” [Islamic State] and “UCK” [Kosovo Liberation Army] were among the graffiti sprayed on the external walls and outbuildings of the monastery on Sunday, according to photographs of the vandalism published by archdeacon Sava Janjic on his Twitter account.

Marko Djuric, director of the Serbian government’s office for Kosovo, called on NATO’s Kosovo force, KFOR, to reinforce security at the monastery and urged the Pristina authorities to arrest the perpetrators.

“Messages like these that appeared on the monastery buildings certainly create additional fear and anxiety among the Serbian population,” Djuric said.

The ancient site has been attacked by protesters several times since the Kosovo war, and has also been the focus of demonstrations against a court ruling last year that granted land to the monastery rather than to Kosovo companies.

Outgoing Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, the former political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army, said meanwhile said that the KLA could not be compared to Islamic State fighters.

“The hand of someone who writes the name of the KLA in a sentence which contains the word ISIS is not a hand that wishes Albanians and communities in Kosovo well,” Thaci wrote on his Facebook page.

“Unlike other Balkans states that had jihadist or extreme pan-Orthodox units, we fought a war supported by the biggest alliance in the world, NATO,” he added.

Visoki Decani is one of the best-known Serb heritage sites in Kosovo, established in 1327 and housing the grave of its founder, King Stefan Uros ‘Decanski’, although it now sits in solidly ethnic Albanian-populated territory.

Serbia Not Afraid of EU Membership Delay Over Refusal to Back Anti-Russian Sanctions

(RIA Novosti, 11 October 2014)

MOSCOW – Serbia is not afraid that its refusal to impose sanctions against Russia will delay its accession to the European Union, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said Saturday.

“Europe will certainly try harder to make Serbia impose sanctions against Russia. And perhaps such an attempt will be made in the nearest future, because Europe insists on the common foreign policy part of the agreement on our accession to the European Union,” Nikolic said in an interview with the Rossiya-1 broadcaster.

“In fact, Europe has no common foreign policy on any matter. An example is the recognition of Kosovo and Metohija. If there is a common foreign policy, how did it happen that a part of the EU member states did not recognize the independence of Kosovo and Metohija? These are Slovakia, Romania, Spain, Greece, Cyprus. And that is much more serious than imposing sanctions against one state. Hence, if there are exceptions, these should be for everyone, including Serbia,” the president added.

Nikolic noted that he is not afraid of delaying Serbia’s entrance into the European Union with his policy. “When we decided to negotiate with the European Union, we were not talking about imposing sanctions against Russia,” he stressed.

The president also explained how the current Serbian policy towards Russia and the EU is different from the one carried out by Ukraine a year ago. “A part of Ukraine wanted to be with the European Union, another part wished to be with Russia. Serbia is not divided on this issue. It wants to be with both Russia and the European Union. And this should be granted by both Russia and the European Union,” Nikolic concluded.

The EU has imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia’s largest banks, energy and defense companies, as well as certain individuals, over Moscow’s alleged involvement in the Ukrainian conflict. Serbia has refused to back these measures.

Last week, Serbian Ambassador to Russia Slavenko Terzic stated that “the Serbian leadership has made it clear that it will never join sanctions against Russia”.

Bosnians vote amid ethnic splits, economic concerns (AFP, 13 October 2014)

Nearly 20 years since a devastating war, Bosnia, one of Europe’s poorest countries that remains split along ethnic lines, goes to polls to elect a new administration with very little hopes for change

Bosnia voted Oct. 12 to choose new leaders and a parliament amid mounting social discontent in a country plagued with corruption and ethnic disputes hampering its approach to the European Union.

Nearly 20 years since a devastating war between its Croats, Muslims and Serbs the country is one of Europe’s poorest and remains split along ethnic lines.

The 1992-1995 conflict, which killed 100,000 people, left the former Yugoslav Republic divided into two semi-autonomous entities – the ethnic Serb Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation – linked by weak central institutions.

Some 3.3 million voters are eligible to cast ballots to elect three members – a Croat, a Muslim and a Serb — of the joint presidency as well as a new central parliament. They will also elect assemblies for the two entities and in Republika Srpska a president.

“I will not vote for current rulers. They did not improve anything,” Nadja Kadric, a librarian in her 50s, told AFP in Sarajevo, echoing the discontent of many Bosnians. “I hope that many youngsters will vote and that they will have the courage to elect those who were never in power.”

As always ahead of elections here, politicians have returned to nationalist rhetoric to attract votes.

Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, running for a new term, has renewed threats that his entity might secede.

“The aim of my policy is that we are less and less an entity and more a state,” he told a campaign rally. In response, the Muslim member of the presidency, Bakir Izetbegovic, who is also running for a second term, has appealed for “unity” among Muslims.

‘Politics of division’

At a Sarajevo rally, Izetbegovic warned that politics of “divisions will not pass” and slammed ethnic Croats’ aspirations for a separate entity for themselves.

But Ivana Saric, a student from Sarajevo, decided to vote for a small multi-ethnic party. But she said she did not believe many would follow her example.

“People are afraid to choose major changes. Maybe they are traumatized by the past. Twenty years ago they chose democracy, later independence and then they had war.”

Bosnia’s economic figures are grim. The unemployment rate officially stands at 44 percent while the average monthly salary is 415 euros ($525). The country is also plagued by corruption, which costs taxpayers some 750 million euros annually, according to non-governmental organizations.

Growing public discontent escalated in February into the kind of popular uprising not seen since the brutal conflict of two decades ago.

Thousands took to the streets protesting the government’s failure to fight graft and introduce political and economic reforms needed for the country to gain EU membership.

Major floods in May, whose damage is estimated at two billion euros or 15 percent of Bosnia’s gross domestic product, have further aggravated the poor economic situation. Local political analysts have warned that the elected officials would likely be quickly confronted with major social discontent if they do not radically change things.

Apart from its economic crisis, Bosnia has also seen a political deadlock since 2006 due to the ethnic tensions.

Politicians from the three major ethnic groups have failed to agree on major reforms needed for EU membership, leaving Bosnia lagging behind its fellow Balkan countries on the path to the 28-nation bloc.

Bosnia goes to polls amid economic woes, ethnic splits (AFP, by Rusmir Smajilhodzic, 12 October 2014)

Bosnians vote in a general election Sunday amid mounting social discontent in a country plagued with corruption and ethnic disputes hampering its approach to the European Union.

Nearly 20 years since a devastating war between its Croats, Muslims and Serbs Bosnia is one of Europe’s poorest countries and remains split along ethnic lines.

The 1992-1995 conflict, which claimed some 100,000 lives, left the former Yugoslav Republic divided into two semi-autonomous entities — the ethnic Serb Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation — linked by weak central institutions.

Some 3.3 million voters are eligible to cast ballots to elect three members — a Croat, a Muslim and a Serb — of the joint presidency as well as a new central parliament. They will also elect the two entities’ assemblies and in Republika Srpska a president.

As always ahead of elections here, politicians have returned to nationalist rhetoric to attract votes.

Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, a nationalist running for a new turn, has renewed threats of his entity’s secession.

“The aim of my policy is that we are less and less an entity and more a state!” he told a poll rally.

In response, the Muslim member of the presidency, Bakir Izetbegovic, who is also running for a second term, has appealed for “unity” among Muslims.

At a Sarajevo rally Izetbegovic warned that politics of “referendums and divisions will not pass” and also slammed ethnic Croats’ aspirations for a separate entity for themselves.

Major social discontent

Bosnia’s unemployment rate officially stands at 44 percent. Some 18 percent of the population live below the poverty line while the average monthly salary is 415 euros ($525).

The country is also plagued by corruption, which costs taxpayers some 750 million euros ($945 million) annually, according to non-governmental organisations.

Growing public discontent escalated in February into the kind of popular uprising not seen since the 1992-1995 war.

Thousands took to the streets protesting against the government’s failure to fight graft and introduce political and economic reforms needed for the country to gain EU membership.

“Those who will come to power are likely to be quickly confronted with major social discontent” if they do not radically change things, political analyst Enver Kazaz told AFP.

Historic floods in May, whose damage is estimated at two billion euros or 15 percent of Bosnia’s gross domestic product, have further aggravated a grim economic situation.

Apart from its severe economic crisis, Bosnia has also seen a political deadlock since 2006 due to the ethnic tensions.

Politicians from the three major ethnic groups — Croats, Muslims and Serbs — have failed to agree on major Brussels-sought reforms, leaving Bosnia lagging behind its fellow Balkan countries on the path to the 28-nation bloc.

An EU statement on Friday said Bosnians should expect their elected officials “to bring much needed reconciliation in society and politics … close the gap with rest of the region and ensure progress towards the EU.”

Some 5,400 polling stations open at 0500 GMT and will close twelve hours later. First partial results are expected around 2200 GMT.

Difficult choices for people voting in Bosnia-Herzegovina (Euronews, 12 October 2014)

It is decision day for people in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Some 3.3 million people are eligible to vote in elections for a three-person rotating presidency, a national parliament and two regional parties, as well as local assemblies.

But with nearly 8,000 candidates from more than 60 parties, making a choice is not easy.

Jan Zlatan Kulenovic, Executive Director of the Youth Information Agency, told euronews: “The perception of citizens is that there is no single political party that is not in power somewhere. And then you cannot blame them or that for any consistent policy, because basically you cannot identify – especially in the last four years – who is really in power.”

The country is still struggling to find its identity, amid debate on thorny issues ranging from rising nationalism to how to deal with corruption.

One voter told Euronews : “I expect nothing. It will only get worse, the people have all been deceived. I just wanted to carry out my civil duty, I turned out to vote merely for my own satisfaction.”

A woman said: “We need pensions to increase, our youth to get jobs. We need change, so the situation can improve for the better.”

Bosnia-Herzegovina has one of the most complex multi-layered political systems in the world, taking in two separate autonomous regions and different rival ethnic groups.

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Media summaries are produced for the internal use of the United Nations Office in Belgrade, UNMIK and UNHQ. The contents do not represent anything other than a selection of articles likely to be of interest to a United Nations readership.