Bosnians choose 5 presidents, 13 prime ministers and 700 MPs in this election Bosnians are set to vote in a general election after a campaign that focused on the ethnic divisions in the country.
Fifteen years after the country’s inter-ethnic war, key political parties urged Bosnians to vote for candidates of their own ethnic group.
The complicated constitution means that voters are to choose five presidents, 13 prime ministers and 700 MPs.
This election may also decide if Bosnia moves closer towards the European Union and Nato.
Bosnians are called on to elect the leaders of the central government and of two semi-autonomous regions, the Serb Republic (Republika Srpska) and the Muslim-Croat Federation.
They will also decide who will take the seats in the central parliament and in the two regional assemblies.
The two separate entities were set up by the 1995 Dayton peace accord, which ended the 1992-95 Bosnian war.
With the country’s political forces at a stalemate, the election campaign was dominated by nationalist rhetoric from Muslim, Croat and Serb leaders to mobilise their own ethnic vote.
The outgoing Serb Prime Minister Mikorad Dodik, who now runs for the presidency of the Serb Republic, said he was committed to “fight for Republika Srepska” and against centralisation.
Bosnian Croat nationalist leader Dragan Covic also based his campaign on calls for a separate Croat entity within Bosnia.
The BBC’s Mark Lowen in Sarajevo says that some voters worry that the same political figures will continue in power.
There is also some frustration about the campaign focusing on nationalist issues rather than political reforms and economic recovery, our correspondent says.
Bosnia’s fragile economy, already hampered by corruption and political bickering, was hit hard by the global financial crisis.
Official statistics show that unemployment was at 43% in July.
The High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Valentin Inzko, called on Bosnians to go to the polls and vote for change.
“Please, get out and vote on Sunday,” Mr Inzko said. “This is your country, and it is your democratic responsibility to decide about its future.”
Analysts say that the ability of Bosnian leaders to unite and carry out reforms will determine if the country moves closer to the EU membership it aspires to.
Bosnia is also a candidate for Nato membership.
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