Bosnia-Herzegovina: over 7 thousand candidates for 518 places in the general elections

There are over 7 thousand candidates running for 518 positions within the political system defined by the Dayton Accords, which ended the war in 1995. Voters elect the three members of the state presidency, representatives of the Bosniak, Croatian and Serbian communities, as well as the 42 deputies of the House of Representatives and the bodies of the two entities that make up the country: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, divided into ten cantons, and the Republic of Srpska.

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The electoral campaign, without polls on voting intentions, was dominated by the main nationalist parties of the three communities of the country: the Bosniak SDA party, the Bosnian Serb SNSD and the Hdz BiH, the main Bosnian Croat force. The profound differences between these forces on the future structure of the State continue to slow down the functioning of the institutions. Also in the running is a multi-ethnic coalition made up of three parties led by the social democrats of the SDP, together with numerous smaller lists, in a framework that suggests complex negotiations for the formation of future government coalitions.

For the first time, electronic control systems are introduced to combat possible electoral fraud. After identification by document, voters must undergo fingerprint scanning and insert their ballot into an optical scanner instead of the traditional ballot box.

The elections are taking place in a country marked by strong emigration. The number of voters registered on the lists, approximately 3.4 million, exceeds that of residents, estimated at just over 3.1 million. Furthermore, there are almost 48 thousand citizens registered to vote from abroad, through around twenty diplomatic offices distributed in thirteen countries.

Despite the status of candidate country to the European Union obtained in 2022 and the opening of the negotiation path in 2024, Bosnia-Herzegovina continues to deal with deep ethnic tensions and delays in the reforms requested by Brussels. Internal political divisions remain one of the main obstacles to the European integration process.

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