SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina
The European Union Special Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina Peter Sorensen has called on all parties in Bosnia to form a government quickly following the release of final results from parliamentary and presidential elections.
Speaking at a farewell press conference in Sarajevo on Tuesday, Sorensen said that Bosnia and Herzegovina belonged to the European bloc.
He said: "Bosnia and Herzegovina is a European country, a European country which belongs to the European Union and is also part of our family."
"To enter the EU, the country has to comply with the many reforms we have worked on over the previous three years."
He went on: "I think this is a good time to say goodbye to this country because someone else will replace me and have the opportunity to work with the newly elected government."
"Comparing to previous elections, we now know exactly what tasks should be completed."
The representative said he believed it was likely a new government would be formed quickly following the elections.
"I do not believe that Bosnia can have the luxury of wasting 11 months in forming a government as was the case after the previous vote. This time I see a change and a really different political atmosphere ... so I think that's going to change this time," he said.
Sorensen is due to leave Bosnia on 31 October to travel to Geneva, where he will assume the position of Head of the EU Delegation to the United Nations.
Official election results
His comments came a day after the Central Election Commission (CIK) announced the official results of the presidential and parliamentary elections for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is comprised of two separate entities; Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, both of which have representatives at the state level.
The Democratic Action Party (SDA), founded in 1990 by the first chairman of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Alija Izetbegovic, gained the most seats in the Parliament of Federation of BiH, winning 110 out of a possible 518.
The Croat Democratic Union (HDZ BIH), the biggest political party among Croats living in Bosnia, followed with 69 seats.
The Association of Better Future (SBB), led by former Defense Minister and media mogul Fahrudin Radoncic, won 56 seats.
The Democratic Front Party (DF) - founded last year by former Croatian member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Tripartite Presidency, Zeljko Komsic - got 46 places.
The elections' biggest loser was the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which previously was in power in the federation, which got 43 parliamentary seats.
The Independent Social Democratic Union Party (SNSD) from Republika Srpska got 38 seats in parliament within the entity of Republika Srpska.
Presidential election results
The SDA candidate Bakir Izetbegovic, standing for the Bosniak membership of the Tripartite Presidency at state level, was the winner of the presidential elections with 230,069 votes.
HDZ BIH candidate Dragan Covic, standing for the Croat membership, won 120,502 votes while the Serbian Democratic Progress Party (PDP) candidate Mladen Ivanic, standing for the Serb membership, was elected with 285,105 votes.
According to the Bosnian law, the members of the Bosnia Herzegovina Tripartite Presidency serve four-year term.
The member with the most votes directly becomes chairman of the presidency, but the seat is rotated every eight months to ensure national equality.
The two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina were formally established under the Dayton peace agreement signed in 1995 following the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.
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