On 14 September, 1996, nearly 2.4 million citizens took par t in the elections,
with nearly 1,000 international observers providing oversight. This process created
new post-war institutions of government, including executive as well as
legislative bodies: a joint Presidency and House of Representatives for Bosnia
and Herzegovina; a Presidency and a National Assembly of Republika Srpska; a
House of Representatives of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; and
Cantonal Assemblies in the Federation. Only municipalities were excluded from
the process, when a decision was taken to postpone the process in order to
allow for more preparation. Election mandates would expire af ter two years.