Bosnian Serb Parliamentary Vote Begins

PALE, Bosnia, Nov. 22—Under raw, rainy skies, hundreds of thousands of Bosnian Serbs voted today in parliamentary elections that the West hopes will loosen the stranglehold on power exercised by unyielding nationalists.

The elections for a new 83-member parliament for the Serb-controlled part of Bosnia are being closely watched in Washington and European capitals, which have accused hard-line Bosnian Serbs of blocking their attempts to consolidate the peace here. The hard-liners in the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) are loyal to former Bosnian Serb president Radovan Karadzic, who is under indictment for war crimes for his role in the 1992-95 war in Bosnia.

If the hard-liners fare well in the voting today and Sunday, it would deal a serious blow to Western policy in the region. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is running the elections, expects to announce results in mid-December.

Here in Pale, where Karadzic lives, the hard-liners were expected to do well. "Everyone is voting for the SDS," said a young man who voted this morning, referring to Karadzic's party. "Either them or the Radicals." The Serbian Radical Party is an ideological ally of the SDS.

The elections were called last summer after Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic broke with Karadzic and dissolved the hard-line parliament.

Determined to weaken Karadzic and his allies, the West channeled money and advice to Plavsic, who has expressed support for the U.S.-brokered peace process.

NATO troops also have shut down the main television transmitters used by the hard-liners and helped to wrest a number of local police stations from Karadzic's control.

"I expect our people to vote this time for those who are able to provide them with a better standard of living and, of course, a better future," Plavsic said after voting in the northwestern town of Banja Luka.