Brussels – Everything is ready for one of the world’s most complicated elections. For the tenth time since the first vote in autumn 1996, around 3.5 million voters in Bosnia and Herzegovina will head to the polls on 4 October to elect their representatives in a complex institutional system. The outcome will determine whether the country can accelerate the necessary reforms to overcome institutional gridlock and advance its path towards joining the European Union.
General elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina are held within the framework established by the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, which created 518 public offices across a multi-tiered institutional system designed to balance democratic representation with constitutional guarantees for the three constituent peoples – Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs. This is why, to understand elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is first necessary to analyse the institutional framework.
The complex institutional framework
The country is divided into two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, alongside the special administrative regime of the Brčko District. Each entity has its own bicameral parliament. Depending on the entity in which they live, Bosnian citizens also elect either a president (in Republika Srpska) or representatives to cantonal assemblies (in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is divided into 10 cantons).
In practice, on election day in Bosnia and Herzegovina, voters cast ballots for different positions depending on the political entity in which they live, while their eligibility to stand for certain positions may depend on their ethnic affiliation. Those who do not identify with any of the three constituent peoples are excluded from certain candidacies.
At the state level, voters directly elect the three members of the collective Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Presidency consists of one Bosniak and one Croat member elected from the territory of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and one Serb member elected directly from Republika Srpska.
Voters also elect the members of the lower chamber of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country’s bicameral legislative body at state level. Of the 42 seats in the House of Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 28 are allocated to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 14 to Republika Srpska. The 15 delegates to the upper chamber, the House of Peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina, are indirectly elected by the parliaments of the country’s two constituent entities. The House of Peoples comprises 15 members – five from each constituent people – and has the power to veto legislation passed by the House of Representatives.
In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, citizens also cast ballots to elect the 98 members of the House of Representatives – the lower house of the entity’s bicameral legislative body – across 12 multi-member electoral units, subject to a requirement that each constituent people holds at least four seats. Moreover, voters elect representatives to the legislative assemblies of the ten cantons. The executive leadership of the Federation – a president and two vice-presidents – is nominated by the 80 delegates of the House of Peoples of the Federation, the upper house, which is itself indirectly elected by members of the cantonal assemblies.
In Republika Srpska, citizens directly elect the president and two vice-presidents of the entity on a single candidate ballot. The presidential candidate securing the highest number of votes overall assumes the presidency, while the top-placed candidates representing the other two constituent peoples are declared vice-presidents. Moreover, voters elect the 83 members of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, the entity’s unicameral parliament, across nine multi-member constituencies, with entity-wide balancing mandates.
Participation in state- and entity-level elections for voters residing in the Brčko District – an autonomous administrative unit operating under direct state sovereignty – depends on their registered entity citizenship. Those holding Federation citizenship receive three ballots to vote for the state Presidency, the national House of Representatives and the Federation House of Representatives. Those registered as citizens of Republika Srpska receive four ballots, casting votes for the state Presidency, the national House of Representatives, the Republika Srpska presidency and the Republika Srpska National Assembly.
Key candidates and political forces
The 2026 general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina are characterised in both entities by intense party competition and deep fragmentation.
In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, political competition for the two seats in the state Presidency elected from the Federation is divided along the two main ethnic groups. The contest for the Bosniak seat pits incumbent Denis Bećirović, nominated by the Social Democratic Party (SDP BiH) and backed by the governing ‘Trojka’ coalition – composed of the social-democratic SDP BiH, the centre-right People and Justice (NiP) and the socio-liberal Our Party (Naša Stranka) – against Bakir Izetbegović, leader of the conservative Party of Democratic Action (SDA).
In the Croat political sphere within the Federation, the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ BiH), led by Dragan Čović, remains the principal party. Because incumbent Croat Presidency member Željko Komšić is constitutionally ineligible to seek a third consecutive term, HDZ BiH has fielded Darijana Filipović as its candidate for the state Presidency. Opposing HDZ BiH, Slaven Kovačević is running on behalf of Komšić’s Democratic Front (DF), promoting a civic, non-ethnic model of the state, while a coalition of opposition Croat parties, including HDZ 1990, is backing independent candidate Zdenko Lučić.
In Republika Srpska, the election is taking place in the aftermath of the state court’s conviction of long-standing leader of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats(SNDS), Milorad Dodik. The ruling coalition led by the SNSD has nominated Prime Minister Savo Minić as its candidate for President of Republika Srpska, while incumbent Željka Cvijanović is running for re-election as the Serb member of the state Presidency. The main opposition forces have established a unified coalition, led by the Serb Democratic Party (SDS). Branko Blanuša is standing as the joint candidate for President of Republika Srpska, while Marinko Božović for the Serb seat on the state Presidency. Nebojša Vukanović‘s For Justice and Order (ZPR) is campaigning as an independent anti-corruption alternative.
The election campaign
The 2026 election campaign is heavily shaped by nationalist polarisation, constitutional and institutional disputes, and socio-economic difficulties.
In Republika Srpska, the ruling SNSD’s campaign is built around strong resistance to state-level judicial authority and the Office of the High Representative (OHR), framing state institutions as illegitimate instruments used by international actors to erode the entity’s autonomy. Meanwhile, the united opposition focuses on institutional stagnation, economic mismanagement, and public-sector corruption in Banja Luka.
In the Federation, political debate is dominated by the opposition SDA’s accusations that the ‘Trojka’ governing coalition has made unacceptable concessions to Serb autonomists and Croat nationalists in exchange for political power, while the governing parties emphasise their commitment to reform, administrative modernisation, and international diplomacy. HDZ BiH centres its campaign on long-standing demands for electoral law reform, insisting on the establishment of mechanisms for “legitimate ethnic representation”.
A prominent issue during the 2026 campaign is the implementation of major technical safeguards intended to strengthen electoral integrity. Following legislative amendments enacted by High Representative Christian Schmidt before his resignation in May, the Central Election Commission deployed 6,000 biometric voter-identification units and 6,000 optical ballot scanners at polling stations nationwide.
European integration also occupies a central position in the political debate. The formal adoption of a negotiating framework for EU accession remains contingent upon the fulfilment of essential benchmarks concerning judicial independence, anti-corruption enforcement, and state functionality. Meanwhile, the implementation of the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans is being used as an electoral issue, particularly in the Federation. The governing coalition highlights the approval of the Reform Agenda as a landmark achievement, while opposition parties criticise the government for administrative delays that resulted in the permanent loss of €108 million in funding and could lead to the loss of additional funds if a crucial deadline in December is missed.
In Republika Srpska, political leaders maintain an ambivalent posture towards Brussels. While welcoming EU economic assistance, they strongly resist conditionality relating to centralised state competences and judicial oversight.
The state of EU–Bosnia and Herzegovina relations
Bosnia and Herzegovina submitted its official request for EU membership on 15 February 2016. More than six years later, on 15 December 2022, it was granted candidate status. The EU institutions moved forward with the European Council’s decision to open accession negotiations on 21 March 2024.
Despite Sarajevo’s stated commitment, reform momentum has since stalled. Further efforts are needed to address the 14 key priorities outlined in the European Commission’s 2019 Opinion, as well as the steps detailed in the 2022 Recommendation. Two key reforms – a new law on the State Court and one on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council – as well as the appointment of an operational chief negotiator to advance the screening process are still pending. The Council has affirmed its readiness to adopt the negotiating framework only once these conditions have been met.
