THE Bosnian Muslim candidate, Mr Alija Izetbegovic, looks set to be elected chairman of Bosnia's three member presidency, clearing the way for a series of international meetings to promote stability in the country.
With about 65 per cent of the votes counted in both of Bosnia's two entities late last night, Mr Izetbegovic had 521,000 votes to 399,000 for Mr Momcilo Kraijsnik, the Serb candidate. Mr Kraijsnik is a close associate of Dr Radovan Karadzic, who has been indicted for war crimes and openly advocates the secession of the Serb entity, Republika Srpska, from Bosnia.
Under the Bosnian constitution agreed as part of the Dayton accord, the Serb, Muslim and Croat communities each elect a representative to the three person presidency, with the highest vote getter becoming chairman.
Mr Izetbegovic's party, the SDA, and western powers who oppose the break up of Bosnia feared that a high Serb turnout could elect Mr Kraijsnik. Bosnia would then have been in the position of having a head of state who wanted the country broken up.
But significant support for a more moderate Serb candidate Prof Mladen Ivanic, particularly in the Banja Luka area, reduced Mr Kraijsnik's vote and ensured Mr Izetbegovic of victory.
Among Croat voters there was overwhelming support for the candidate of the nationalist HDZ, Mr Kresimir Zubak, who also supports Croat secession from Bosnia.
The way is now cleared for a meeting between the President of Serbia, Mr Slobodan Milosevic, and Mr Izetbegovic, as Bosnian head of state, to discuss the implementation of the Dayton agreement and bilateral relations. Sarajevo and Belgrade do not have full diplomatic relations but Mr Milosevic's support is regarded as central to the aim of preventing Republika Srpska from seceding from Bosnia and seeking unity with Serbia. The meeting, brokered by the US, is likely to take place in Paris this month.
Meanwhile, the outgoing Bosnian Prime Minister, Mr Hasan Muratovic, had talks in Zagreb yesterday with President Franjo Tudjman, of Croatia. The two discussed the transfer of power from the wartime Croat and Bosnian governments to the Muslim Croat Federation, the non Serb entity created at Dayton.
The Muslim Croat Federation is a fragile one, with fears of a further outbreak of war between the two communities. Dr Tudjman's support like that of Mr Milosevic is crucial if Croat secession from Bosnia is to be prevented.
The three members of Bosnia's presidency are due to meet within a week. They will travel to the UN General Assembly next week, where Mr Izetbegovic will speak. He will also conduct a series of meetings with world leaders seeking to copper fasten international support for Dayton and for the building of an integrated Bosnia.
Vote counting continues in Bosnia today, with interest now focusing on the election to the Bosnia wide assembly. It is possible the Serb and Croat members elected will constitute a majority. The assembly may consequently have a majority in favour of the break up of the state.
The result of elections to the presidencies and assemblies of the two separate entities may not be known until the weekend.