Expert Bassuener: Are Election Surprises Possible in Serbia and BiH 

Elections (BETAPHOTO/DRAGAN GOJIC)

An election surprise is more possible in Serbia than in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Kurt Bassuener from the Democratization Policy Council, an independent institution, told Radio Free Europe on Sept. 15, speaking about the upcoming elections in both countries.

Bassuener said that Serbia is a much bigger mystery in relation to potential outcome of the elections. “With regard to Serbia, I think the potential for a reasonable, positive change is much greater. There, many things are still very much unshaped. There are many elements in that cause-and-effect chain that must coincide, but, at least, it is possible,” he noted. 

Bassuener also said he does not believe that such a thing would be possible in BiH, in the current circumstances and with the current position of external actors. General elections in BiH are scheduled for Oct. 4, while snap parliamentary elections in Serbia are called for Oct. 25.

Bassuener also mentioned that before scheduling elections in Serbia, that is, at the very beginning of the election campaign in BiH, the relations between the two countries became significantly strained due to state honors provided at the funeral for Ratko Mladic, the wartime commander of the Republika Srpska Army convicted of war crimes, in Belgrade on Sept. 7.