Voters in Bosnia and Herzegovina cast ballots on Sunday for the tripartite presidency, the national parliament and entity legislatures, with preliminary results expected after polls close at 7 p.m. local time.
Bosnians voted on Sunday in elections that Reuters said could affect the country's European Union membership bid and the influence sought by the United States and Russia.
Ballots cover the central tripartite presidency and the national parliament, plus regional legislative races in the two entities created by the 1995 Dayton accord: the Serb-majority Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation. The Federation is also choosing 98 seats in its legislature, and Republika Srpska is electing its president and 83 legislative seats.
Reuters reported growing voter frustration over an economic slowdown, slow EU entry talks and repeated stalemates between ethnically based parties. Preliminary results are expected from the Central Election Commission after polls close at 7 p.m. local time, 1700 GMT.
Tracking platform Poliwave, cited by Reuters, put the SDA narrowly ahead nationally at 21.4 percent, followed by the SDP on 16.7 percent. In Republika Srpska, SNSD, the party of secessionist leader Milorad Dodik, led with 34.2 percent.
AFP reported that wartime divides were driving the campaigns. No official results had been released at the time of Reuters' election-day dispatch.