Chamber:
	Predstavnicki dom
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	12 September 1998 13 September 1998
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in the House of Representatives on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	In accordance with the terms of the 1995 Dayton peace accords, general elections had previously been held two years earlier, in September 1996. The accords provided for a central government for the federal State of Bosnia-Herzegovina and, within it, two semi-autonomous regions - the Muslim-Croat federation and the Bosnian Serb entity (Republika Srpska) - with their own separate governments. A 32,000-man NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) was later deployed to safeguard inter-ethnic peace. As in 1996, polling was overseen by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and simultaneous voting was scheduled for a number of posts, to wit: the three-member federal presidency, the 42-member federal House of Representatives, the presidency of the Republika Srpska, the legislatures of each of the two above-mentioned entities and, finally, cantonal and municipal assemblies and councils. Altogether some 83 parties, coalitions and alliances as well as independent candidates were in the running. The three largest groups in contention were the Coalition for a Single and Democratic Bosnia-Herzegovina (KCD), the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), and the Serb Democratic Party (SDS). In order to register for the polls, the OSCE insisted that each party provide a manifesto covering issues ranging from the return of refugees to economic policy (especially unemployment) to minority rights, this with the aim of broadening all groups’ appeal and responsibilities and having the electorate express their choices on more than simply ethnic or national lines. Despite the Dayton accords and subsequent Western efforts to reintegrate Bosnia, voting results as finally announced on October 2 revealed that the country was still largely divided along ethnic lines since the end of the 43-month 1992-1995 civil war. While there was a general decline by nationalist forces and gains by moderate candidates, most citizens continued to support parties representing mainly their own Serb, Croat or Moslem communities. In the important race for the presidency of the Serb republic, Mr. Nikola Poplasen of the nationalist Radical Party (SRS) defeated the Western-backed incumbent, Mrs. Biljana Plavsic of the Sloga (Unity) Coalition. The collective and multi-ethnic presidency, for its part, was captured by Mr. Zivko Radisic (Serb), the incumbent Mr. Alija Izetbegovic (Moslem) and Mr. Ante Jelavic (Croat); its leadership changes every eight months. Voter turnout as a whole was relatively high, at 70%, and the OSCE deemed the polling free and fair. For the federal House of Representatives, 10 different groups won seats, with the most (17) going to the KCD.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (12 September 1998): Elections results
Number of registered electors	2,750,000 (approx.)
Voters	70%

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	%
Coalition for a Single and Democratic Bosnia (KCD)	40
Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ)	14
Sloga Coalition	10
Serb Democratic Party (SDS)	10
Social Democratic Party (SDP)	10
Social Democrats of Bosnia	5
Serb Radical Party (SRS)	5
Democratic People's Union (NDZ)	2
New Croat Initiative (NHI)	2
Radical Party of the Serb republic	2

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total
Coalition for a Single and Democratic Bosnia (KCD)	17
Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ)	6
Sloga Coalition	4
Serb Democratic Party (SDS)	4
Social Democratic Party (SDP)	4
Social Democrats of Bosnia	2
Serb Radical Party (SRS)	2
Democratic People's Union (NDZ)	1
New Croat Initiative (NHI)	1
Radical Party of the Serb republic	1