HAVING forced the pace of elections in Bosnia at breakneck speed, the international community had rather hoped that the official election monitor that it appointed could deem them to have been free air and democratic.

Mr Ed Van Thijn, the former mayor of Amsterdam, has an independent streak, however. He had already irritated Western governments and organisations by stating in advance that the election would knot be "free, fair and democratic" as the Dayton accords stipulated it must be.

His first post election press conference therefore attracted the biggest crowd for months to the press centre at Sarajevo's Holiday Inn on Monday. But Mr Van Thijn avoided causing more grief for the US led "elections now" movement. Rather than get hung up on the free, fair or democratic qualities of the poll, Mr, Van Thijn instead gave an honest assessment of what the Bosnian elections had really been about.

"It is difficult to assess the election process in Bosnia and Herzegovina, after four years of war, in accordance with the term `free and fair' as it is usually understood," he said.

His message was that the election must be seen in terms of its role as an instrument of conflict resolution, rather than given marks out of 10 for freeness, fairness and democracy. "Whether the election leads to integration or disintegration will only become clear as immediate events unfold," he said. That would be the real measure of success.

Of course, none of this is Mr Van Thijn's business. His job, assigned to him by the OSCE which organised the elections, was to determine whether they were indeed "free, fair and democratic".

His answer to this in his preliminary report released on Monday was basically "no". But by sidestepping his official role, Mr Thijn highlighted what everyone knows. What the elections were really about is what happens next, rather than the much predicted flaws in the campaign, the poll and the outcome.

The results so far have highlighted the apparently unbridgeable divisions between Bosnia's Serbs, Muslims and Croats.

But nobody ever believed that the poll would somehow produce a coalition of moderates that would work to build a multi cultural Bosnia. Four years of mass murder and ethnic cleansing sent everyone back to their tribal camps on polling day.

IT was never really expected, either, that the elections would be "free fair and democratic" in the sense that those terms are understood in Western democracies. Intimidation and violence are common political tools in Bosnia, while the Croat, Serb and Bosnian nationalists were never going to relinquish control of their respective media in the name of democratic debate.

Tens of thousands of voters stayed at home rather than cross the boundary to their former homes in Serb held territory to vote. Hundreds who did turn up to vote could not find their names on the voters list.

The turnout throughout Bosnia still remains a mystery, according to the organisers, the OSCE. They have nevertheless backed off their initial claim that close to 70 per cent voted. Some believe the figure was below 60 per cent.

On the positive side, polling day was almost free of violence.

The men who went to war have all won landslides. Whether the international community can now bully and cajole them to operate the new complex power sharing structures in Bosnia will be the real determinant of the success of the process.

There is plenty of scope for disaster and renewed war. Bosnia's Serbs and Croats each gave over 80 per cent support to presidential candidates Mr Momcilo Kraijsnik and Mr Kresimir Zubak respectively who want to secede from Bosnia. The Muslims gave overwhelming support to Mr Alija Izetbegovic, the `leader' of the SDA, which talks as if their united Bosnia contains only Muslims. These three are now supposed to sit together as Bosnia's joint presidency, reaching consensus decisions on every issue.

One alternative to this scenario is a Croat declaration of secession, followed by a Bosnian invasion of Croat areas.

Alternatively, Serb resistance to any Bosnian attempt to return "ethnically cleansed" Muslims back to their homes in Republika Srpska could lead to violence. There are plenty of other opportunities for war, rather than power sharing.

International involvement appears to be the only brake on the war. The international High Representative in Bosnia, Mr Carl Bildt, yesterday again promised continued international economic and political support for the reconstruction of Bosnia as a united state. He also restated his view that an international military force must continue in Bosnia, after the mandate of the present force, IFOR, expires in December. All of this will be necessary if Bosnia is to avoid disintegration.

The Dayton accords, recognising the deep divisions in Bosnia, established two entities within the state, Republika Srpska comprising 49 per cent of the territory, and a fragile Muslim/Croat Federation comprising 51 per cent.

Bosnia is to be what Mr Bildt calls "the most decentralised state in the world". Its Serbs who wanted separation from Bosnia would have to settle for a strong local administration, but agree in participate in weak Bosnia wide political institutions.

THUS, on Saturday, Bosnian's elected assemblies and presidents in their owns respective entities, and also elected an assembly for all of Bosnia and a three person Bosnian presidency consisting of a Muslim, a Croat and a Serb.

Critics say the elections were held too early. Key elements of the Dayton accords have not been implemented. The right of displaced persons to return home exists only on paper the few incidents where it has been tried resulted in violence. ,Freedom of movement exists on paper too, but inhabitants of one area travelling through another usually receive a deeply hostile reception.

Bosnians supporting the idea of an integrated Bosnia believed that a postponement of the elections could have allowed progress to be made on these issues, and thus broken down the tribal support for extreme nationalists in each area. Instead, the secessionists have been validated. Two members of the three person presidency want to break up the state. The only thing preventing them is war weariness, and the threat of international economic and military sanctions.

But the Bosnian election may yet produce a surprise the election of a Serb advocating the dismemberment of Bosnia to chair the three person presidency of that state. Last night, it was still not clear whether Mr Kraijsnik a close friend of Dr Radovan Karadzic would win a greater number of votes than Mr Izetbegovic.

If he does, it would perhaps be an appropriately bizarre outcome to a flawed process. The humour of it will, however, be lost on those committed to the idea of an integrated Bosnia.