Logjam Ends Over Key Post in Bosnian Entity

Bosnia's Central Election Commission on Wednesday confirmed the selection of Bosniak, Croat and Serb candidates for the posts of president and vice-presidents of Bosnia's larger entity.

The appointments should hasten the long-delayed formation of a government in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The breakthrough became possible after an opposition Social Democratic Party, SDP, agreed to support Milan Dunovic's selection as the ethnic Serb Vice-President of the Federation.

Previously, the ruling parties had nominated Marinko Cavara, of the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, as President of the Federation, and Melika Mahmutbegovic, from the Party of Democratic Action, SDA, as Bosniak Vice-President.

With all three nominations confirmed, the Election Commission will wait for eventual complaints from other parties, after which both chambers of the Federation parliament will vote on the three candidates, which is expected to happen soon.

Once the Federation's president and vice-presidents are elected, they will nominate a new Federation government, which then has to be confirmed by the entity parliament.

The process of forming the government in the Federation has been delayed for weeks, partly because there were not enough Serbian MPs and later on account of political feuds.

This has also delayed the formation of the state government in Bosnia, called the Council of Ministers, since some parties insisted that the state government can be formed only after governments in both entities are duly elected.

Bosnia's general elections were held almost four months ago. Governments were since formed in Bosnia's other entity, Republika Srpska, as well as in one of the ten cantons within the Federation.