Bosnia

Election authorities are still counting votes, but the accusations of theft have already begun. Slaven Kovačević claims the HDZ secured 100,000 votes in a two-hour window and has accused the Central Election Commission of fraud involving biometrics and turnout figures. The claims provide a familiar backdrop to the usual post-election puzzle of trying to assemble a Council of Ministers from a splintered set of results.

In the race for the presidency, Denis Bećirović leads Bakir Izetbegović by more than 23,000 votes with 3% of polling stations remaining. While the top level of politics remains a contest between established names, the local level is simply crowded. In Goražde Canton, fifteen different parties are expected to enter the assembly; in a system this fragmented, 180 votes are enough to secure a mandate.

The government of Republika Srpska reportedly paid a US agency $750,000 for services that included a website calling for sanctions against the High Representative, Christian Schmidt. Separately, victims' associations have asked that the Prosecutor’s Office take over a case involving the Srebrenica Memorial Center, following a formal request to the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council.