Everyone into Politics: 30 More Parties Registered Than for the 2010 Elections!

For the October general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, almost twice as many parties have registered compared to those that competed independently in the last general elections held in 2010, reports the BH News Agency Patria (NAP). According to data from the Central Election Commission, as many as 69 political parties and 23 independent candidates have registered for the 2014 general elections.

Four years ago, at the 2010 general elections, 39 political parties, 11 coalitions, and 13 independent candidates participated (a total of 63 political entities), while in 2006 there were 36 parties and 12 independent candidates.

Only in 2002 was the number of participants close to this year's elections, with 57 parties and only three independent candidates competing. Otherwise, the October elections have shown a continuation of the trend of an increasing number of parties and candidates, which is even more pronounced in local elections.

According to the list of registered parties, whose applications will be verified and the final number will be known only after certification, there are a large number of new political parties, and a significant number of parties have ceased to exist during the past four years.

Among the parties that have registered to participate are lesser-known political organizations such as, for example, the Alliance for New Politics, the Civic Political Organization "Strength of Bosnia", the United People's Party, Strength of the People, Leftist Strike, Party for the People of BiH, or SUND BiH.

A party called the "Party of Social Security of Serb Veterans" has also registered. There is also the Party of Justice and Development of BiH, with a name identical to the ruling party in Turkey led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

In the 2010 general elections, a total of 63 political entities, parties, coalitions, and independent candidates competed, and only 27 of them secured seats in parliaments at the state, entity, or cantonal level.