Nationalist divisions deepen as voters reject unity

The president of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Catholic Bishops’ Conference has told citizens they have a “moral duty” to remain active in the electoral process, despite the frustration caused by “false ­promises, corruption and stagnation”, writes Jonathan Luxmoore. The voting in last weekend’s ­presidential and parliamentary elections was mainly along entrenched ethnic and religious lines. “There are people here who could exploit our instability – so we must not ignore the dark clouds to the south-east, where destructive radical forces, rising in the Arab world, could settle and flourish here,” said Bishop Franjo Komarica of Banja Luka.

The bishop was speaking during the Synod on the Family in Rome, as nationalist candidates for the Serbs, Muslims and Croats emerged as front-runners for Bosnia’s tripartite presidency. 

He said “ethno-religious tensions” risked instability and radicalisation, and people wanted “a new way of organising the state”.