Ruling Moslem party ends vote boycott .
SARAJEVO 1996-08-30
Bosnia 's ruling Moslem nationalist party on Friday called on its refugee voters to end a boycott of absentee balloting in national elections , citing assurances provided by a U.S. envoy , government radio said .
The Bosnian government radio broadcast said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Kornblum had reassured SDA officials , including presumably its leader , Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic , whom he met during a Friday visit .
But the radio report did not specify what guarantees , if any , the U.S. envoy had provided .
Absentee voting in the elections began on Wednesday , August 28 and runs for a week .
Election day for those living inside Bosnia is September 14 .
The Party of Democratic Action ( SDA ) had called on Wednesday for its followers abroad to boycott the absentee balloting because of voter registration irregularities , especially among Serb refugees .
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe ( OSCE ) postponed municipal elections as a result of the irregularities but decided to proceed with voting for higher offices .
The SDA , joined by two other parties , has been demanding that OSCE prohibit refugees voting from any place other than their pre-war place of residence as a means to prevent the elections from ratifying the results of ethnic cleansing .