Elections at Least Open the Door

Many argue that Saturday’s elections should be postponed because they will be neither free nor fair. But these elections were intended to be the starting point, not the culmination, of the process of building a democratic state in Bosnia.

There are several good reasons for proceeding with national elections and elections in the two constituent parts of Bosnia: the Muslim-Croat federation and the Bosnian Serb entity.

First, the elections are needed to create, however imperfectly, the national-level institutions--the presidency and the assembly--that will be the foundation for any future Bosnian state.

Second, postponing the elections would only delay Bosnia’s difficult transition to democracy.

Third, we want to preserve the momentum and the integrity of the Dayton peace process. Postponement of the national and regional elections would undermine it.

The civilian implementation of the Dayton accords has lagged far behind the military implementation. But postponing the elections would risk upsetting the whole Dayton timetable. That would directly affect the interests of at least 30 countries that have contributed troops to the NATO-led peacekeeping force on the assumption that this would be a one-year endeavor.

To those who are indignant that elections would ratify ethnic cleansing and the partition of Bosnia, I would point out that the Dayton accords acknowledged the existence of a separate, highly autonomous Bosnian Serb entity.

Holding elections now will give the people of Bosnia the opportunity they want to begin building a democracy. We should not deny them this chance.