First multi-party elections in BiH held 33 years ago, SDA, SDS, and HDZ achieved convincing victories

(Patria) - General elections in the Socialist Republic (SR) of Bosnia and Herzegovina were held on November 18, 1990, while the second round for the election of delegates to the House of Peoples was held on December 2.

These were the first multi-party elections in the SR of Bosnia and Herzegovina, writes Historija.ba.

In addition to the elections for the members of the Presidency, elections were also held for the Assembly of the SR of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The total number of citizens registered in the general voter lists was 3,033,921, of which 100,432 were temporarily working abroad.

To be legitimate, more than 50% of voters registered in the general voter lists had to participate in the elections.

The average voter turnout was 77.83% of the total number of registered voters.

Out of 43 registered parties, 15 participated in the elections, either independently or in coalitions.

SDA, SDS, and HDZ won with a convincing majority, securing 84% of parliamentary seats in the republican parliament, 75.5% of councilor seats in municipal assemblies, and 60.83% of councilor seats in the Assembly of the City of Sarajevo.

For the members of the Presidency, 7 members were to be elected, two from each of the Serb, Croat, and Bosniak (Muslim) peoples, and one from the Others. Voters could vote for candidates from each of the four lists.

Fikret Abdić, Alija Izetbegović, Biljana Plavšić, Nikola Koljević, Stjepan Kljujić, Franjo Boras, and Ejup Ganić (as Yugoslav) became members of the Presidency.

Based on these election results, a coalition of three political parties with national affiliations was formed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to the agreement of the national parties in BiH, Alija Izetbegović (SDA) became the President of the Republic, Momčilo Krajišnik (SDS) became the President of the Assembly, and Jure Pelivan (HDZ BiH) became the Prime Minister.

However, in the very first sessions, deep differences in resolving open issues became apparent.

This was a time of the dissolution of Yugoslavia and intensive negotiations among the six presidents of the republican presidencies, who could not find a way out of the deep Yugoslav crisis.

Less than a year after the first multi-party elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the hostilities that were already widespread in Croatia spread to Bosnia and Herzegovina.