The 1996 Bosnia-Herzegovina Elections

On 14th September 1996, against the background of the Dayton agreement, six different elections took place in Bosnia-Herzegovina. This book covers in detail what was observed on the ground by 900 international observers: the voting process and the count of votes. Did the Polling Station Committee act impartially and competently? What representatives of parties or candidates were observing the elections? In which aspects do the regions in the entities Republica Srpska and the Federation Bosnia-Herzegovina differ? Did observers report specific problems in municipalities split by the Inter Entity Boundary Line?
The book contributes to a clear understanding of the political climate, the role of the OSCE, and whether the elections were conducted properly. It should be of interest to students, scholars and others working in observation and analysis of elections, the political situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, ethnic conflicts, and the role of international organisations in democratisation and peace processes.

Inhalt
1 Introduction.- 2 Backgrounds of the elections.- Elections, parties and candidates.- Registration of voters.- Local Election Commission, Polling Station Committee and Counting Centre Committee.- The voting procedure.- 3 The observation of the vote.- Observation methodology.- Observers: who, where and when.- Overall opinion and observed irregularities.- Polling Station Committee, people present, and reported irregularities.- Security measures, disruptions and accessibility of the station to voters.- Absentee polling stations and the Inter Entity Boundary Line.- The regional profile.- Observers' comments.- Relations between overall opinion, circumstances, procedures and comprehension.- 4 The observation of the counting of the votes.- The counting procedure.- Results of the observation of the count.- 5 Conclusions and recommendations.- Annex 1 The statements of the CIM.- Annex 2 Observation report for Elections Bosnia-Herzegovina.- Annex 3 Report on Observation of Counting Elections Bosnia-Herzegovina.- Annex 4 Parties, coalitions and individual candidates.- Annex 5 Outcomes of elections.- Annex 6 Observations by opstinas.- Annex 7 Additional information on absentee polling stations and IEBL-split opstinas.- Annex 8 Observers' Comments by region.