ABSTRACT

This chapter addresses the human rights approach to elections in elections as they apply to persons belonging to national minorities. It seeks to explore the relevance of ethnicity in elections. An argument is put forward that the ethnic factor (i.e. individuals' ethnic identity) indeed plays a role in electoral processes. The chapter explores the significance of ethnicity for a human rights approach to elections in the context of the post-Yugoslav space. It analyses the elections in the post-conflict context and their impact on minorities (the case of Bosnia-Herzegovina); elections based on a dual voting right (Slovenia); and voting rights of ethnic diaspora (Croatia). It concludes with an assessment of the role of ethnicity as applicable to persons belonging to national minorities in the electoral process, and of the relevance of human rights to elections for persons belonging to national minorities. The analysis demonstrates that there is no straightforward conclusion about the role of ethnicity in elections.