Muslim leader Alija Izetbegovic won the most votes in Bosnia's presidential election, sparking street celebrations in Sarajevo Wednesday for the first chairman of the new three-man presidency. He was the only one of the three to favor a unified Bosnia.
A close second to Izetbegovic in the election was Serb nationalist Momcilo Krajisnik, who campaigned for the Serb half of the country to secede from Bosnia. Croat nationalist Kresimir Zubak finished a distant third.While Izetbegovic's powers as presidential chairman are mostly symbolic, he will be the man international officials turn to as they try to make Bosnia's postwar reconstruction and new government work.
Whether the presidency, created by international negotiators who stitched together the 1995 Dayton peace accord, succeeds will help determine how many foreign troops remain in Bosnia, and for how long. Thousands of American troops, mostly in the north, make up the peacekeeping force.
"This is a great day for us," said Mirza Hajric, an aide to Izetbegovic. "Today, for the first time after four years Bosnia-Herzegovina is reunited."
Jubilant Muslims drove through the streets of Sarajevo, beeping car horns, leaning out windows and waving green and white party banners.
"I am happy for Alija's victory," said 21-year-old Almir Bicakcic. "This is the party which will take Bosnia into its future."
Robert Frowick of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said complete returns from Saturday's vote gave Izetbegovic 729,034 votes to Krajisnik's 690,373. Zubak had 342,007.
Frowick said the results would become official at the end of a 72-hour appeal period. Only minor adjustments were expected.
The presidents are supposed to take office four days after the results are certified.
The election was the first since the December signing of the peace agreement that ended 31/2 years of Balkan war.
Even before final results were in, foreign envoys were pressing the 72-year-old Izetbegovic to start working on the institutions meant to preserve peace and to keep the country intact.
The peace plan for Bosnia calls for a three-way presidency shared by a Muslim, a Serb and a Croat. The one with the highest number of votes is chairman for two years but has no specific duties or veto power.