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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42010-2002Oct4.html [No small part of the prevalent apathy - disgust - with electoral politics in Bosnia is the crude, heavy-handed practice of NATO-SFOR to summarily dismiss elected officials it doesn't approve of.] Bosnians Left Cold by Vote Prospects -But peace has not been much better. Unemployment is at 60 percent and the average monthly salary is $250 while food, clothing and other goods sell at Western European prices. A staggering 62 percent of young Bosnians want to leave, a recent study found. -"Before the war, my salary equaled 750 dollars. Today, it's 200 dollars," said Halil Gadara, 54, a Muslim driver. "I won't vote for anybody. I feel cheated." -"On Saturday, I'll be going to the wedding of my friend. That's more important to me than their false promises. "Frankly, I don't care who will be running this country in the future. I'm leaving Bosnia." By Aida Cerkez-Robinson Associated Press Writer Friday, October 4, 2002; 5:44 AM SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina –– Campaign posters offer a bright new future, but the same tired faces smile down on Bosnians like Natasa Jekic. Despite pleas from U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and others for a strong turnout, observers expect one in three voters to sit out Saturday's general elections, the sixth since the 1992-1995 war but the first administered by local authorities instead of foreign diplomats. The West is hailing the ballot as a crucial turning point for an emerging democracy. But Jekic, a 29-year-old Bosnian Serb clerk from the southern city of Mostar, is among many left cold by recycled politicians with few fresh ideas. "They all lie," she said. "I won't vote." Seven years after the guns and tanks fell silent, Bosnia remains bitterly divided along ethnic lines and heavily dependent on international administrators who run the country's day-to-day affairs. Nationalism is at a postwar high and the economy is a wreck. Saturday's elections will decide the country's three-member presidency representing each of Bosnia's rival ethnic groups: Serbs, Muslims and Croats. Voters also will elect a joint state parliament, a Bosnian Serb parliament, a Muslim-Croat parliament and officials to head the 10 cantons into which modern Bosnia is divided. The new leaders face a daunting dual challenge: rebuilding a multiethnic society and taking the country closer to a market economy. War was bad enough. At least 250,000 people were killed and 1 million others driven from their homes. But peace has not been much better. Unemployment is at 60 percent and the average monthly salary is $250 while food, clothing and other goods sell at Western European prices. A staggering 62 percent of young Bosnians want to leave, a recent study found. Bosnia's former wartime foes are united by at least two things: desperation and apathy. "Before the war, my salary equaled 750 dollars. Today, it's 200 dollars," said Halil Gadara, 54, a Muslim driver. "I won't vote for anybody. I feel cheated." Many Bosnians are skeptical of politicians who spend much of their time quarreling and disagreeing on simple issues such as the design of the country's flag and passports. Two of the three leading nationalist parties that led their ethnic groups into the war remain in power: the Serb Democratic Party and the Croat Democratic Union. Bosnia's majority Muslims abandoned their own nationalist Party for Democratic Action two years ago in favor of a multiethnic bloc that formed a ruling alliance with other pro-Western parties in Muslim-dominated parts of the Balkan country. But nationalism still inflames Bosnia, particularly among Serbs and to a lesser degree among Croats. Nationalist candidates are expected to win across Republika Srpska, the Bosnian Serb republic. "We can expect a remake of the well-known movie from the beginning of the '90s here," warned Miodrag Zivanovic, a Bosnian Serb political analyst, alluding to the ethnic tensions that erupted into war in 1992. However, Zivanovic expects a significant number of voters to stay home. Candidates in the previous five postwar elections could not deliver on promises of jobs and political stability. "On one side, people are tired of voting, and on the other, people really don't know who else to vote for. What is offered are old politicians who are more or less already compromised," he said. With apathy so high, Western leaders are appealing to Bosnians to go to the polls. Powell even has videotaped a message to the nation. "A vote for reform will advance Bosnia further and faster on the path of democracy, the free market and integration with Europe. Or you can elect to go back down the dark and dangerous road to ethnic division, economic stagnation and international isolation," Powell said in the nationally televised message. "Do not cast away the progress you have made ... your vote matters," he said, promising that the EU and the United States remain "strongly committed to your success." Bosnia's top international official, Paddy Ashdown, and the leading European Union foreign affairs officials, Chris Patten and Javier Solana, also are urging voters to pick candidates perceived as committed to fighting for judicial and economic reform. But Mirza Saletovic, a 27-year-old druggist from Tuzla unemployed for four years, does not see the point. "On Saturday, I'll be going to the wedding of my friend," he said. "That's more important to me than their false promises. "Frankly, I don't care who will be running this country in the future. I'm leaving Bosnia." __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? 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