Bosnians voting in general elections

Polling stations in Bosnia have opened for some three million people to vote for the country’s presidency– which is shared by three ethnic groups.

With over 5,200 polling stations set up throughout the country, Bosnians rushed to cast their votes on Sunday in what will determine the future of the ethnically divided country.

Aside from choosing the country’s tripartite presidency, they will also choose central parliament and assemblies of two semi-independent entities– the Serb-run Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation.

Voters have from 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) until 7 p.m. (1700 GMT) to cast their ballots.

Some 1,100 observers, of which 485 are international, will be monitoring the vote.

This is Bosnia’s sixth general election after the civil war in 1992-1995.

The preliminary results are expected to be released by midnight.

Since the last vote in 2006, mistrust has deepened between Croat, Serb and Muslim leaders. Political divisions have also widened between the country’s two regions.