PHENOMENON OF ABSTINENCE IN DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS WITH REFERENCE TO THE GENERAL ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Abstinence is a conscious and voluntary waiver of one original political right, the right to vote. Often, the very act of abstinence is understood as a kind of election, as an expression of disagreement with political alternatives, candidates and parties participating in the elections. Abstinence is close to the notion of apolitical, that is the disinterest and indifference of citizens, of individuals and groups to politics and participation in the political life of the community. The paper analyzes the difference between abstinence in elections and apoliticality and attempts to point to the problem of increasing abstinence from voting in general elections in post-Dayton Bosnia and Herzegovina.