ONE NAME cast a shadow over the list as the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) yesterday began screening thousands of candidates for office in Bosnia's forthcoming elections.
Dr Radovan Karadzic, as Bosnian Serb president, led his people through 43 months of war. Twice indicted for war crimes, the former psychiatrist is barred by the Dayton peace agreement from seeking office in the elections on September 14th.
Dr Karadzic surrendered his executive powers to his deputy, Dr Biljana Plavsic, on Sunday but retained the title of president after being re elected chairman of the Bosnian Serb republic's ruling SDS party the day before.
This post would enable him to maintain a firm hold over the country, manipulate the media and police and obstruct opposition activities from behind the scenes.
The Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA reported that Dr Karadzic would not stand for elective office in September. But the OSCE must still decide whether his SDS position violates Dayton by being a public rather than a private office.
An affirmative answer would enable the OSCE, theoretically at least, to disqualify the SDS and its entire slate of candidates from the ballot.
Such a move seemed highly unlikely since it would nullify elections in the 49 per cent of Bosnia controlled by the Serbs and give a veto over the Dayton peace process to Dr Karadzic and his hardline separatist Serb colleagues.
But Mr Robert Frowick, head of the OSCE mission in Bosnia, has indicated that the OSCE might be forced to take some action over Dr Karadzic's party role.
"Some define that [a public office under the Dayton peace agreement] as a state office. I would define it as any office including the leadership of the party," Mr Frowick told reporters on Wednesday.
I'm not going to explain exactly what we're going to do because we haven't decided. . . but I can tell you that it would be something definitive."
The international mediator, Mr Carl Bildt, the High Representative to Bosnia, has taken the view through his spokesman that the SDS chairmanship is a private function.
But the US State Department spokesman, Mr Nicholas Burns, said in Washington on Tuesday that Dr Karadzic's SDS leadership role put his party at risk.
"If this entire political party (SDS) wishes to see itself out of power and out of influence then they ought to just keep Radovan Karadzic as their chairman," Mr Burns said.
"If they wish to play a role in the political life of the country then they ought to get rid of him..."
The Serb republic comprises half of Bosnia while separatist Croats have retained their grip on about 20 per cent in a mockery of a federation formed with the Muslim led government in 1994 and enshrined in Dayton.
In Mostar, the dominant Croat nationalist party HDZ announced its top candidate for the elections in September, saying that Mr Kresimir Zubak, now president of the shambolic federation will stand for the multi ethnic presidency.
. The Serbian government summoned Dr Plavsic to Belgrade yesterday to discuss the future of Dr Karadzic. Dr Plavsic met President Slobodan Milosevic, who is being pressed by international mediators to extradite Dr Karadzic to the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague.