Key facts
- Milorad Dodik declared victory for his party in Bosnia and Herzegovina's elections.
- Željka Cvijanović, an ally of Dodik, secured over 55% of votes for a seat in the tripartite presidency.
- Darijana Filipović led for the Croat seat on the presidency, and Denis Bećirović led for the Bosniak seat.
- Turnout was 42%, an 8% decrease from the previous election in 2022.
- Dodik, banned from holding public office, has been a dominant figure in the campaign.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina's election aimed to choose three members of the presidency, national lawmakers, and entity heads.
Bosnian Serb nationalist politician Milorad Dodik declared victory for his party in Bosnia and Herzegovina's elections, which were shaped by economic pressures, the prospect of the Balkan nation joining the European Union, and ethnic tensions.
Dodik, a staunchly pro-Russia politician, has dominated the campaign with separatist rhetoric despite not appearing on the ballot himself due to a ban on holding public office following a conviction for defying decisions by the international envoy overseeing the 1995 peace agreement.
With nearly 90% of votes counted, Dodik's ally Željka Cvijanović of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats had over 55% of the votes for one of the three seats in the country's tripartite presidency. Dodik also claimed his party would hold a "vast majority" in Republika Srpska’s assembly, crediting the "magnificent victory" of US president Donald Trump in 2024 and Russian president Vladimir Putin's support.
Darijana Filipović of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina held a commanding lead for the Croat seat on the presidency, while the incumbent Bosniak member, Denis Bećirović of the Social Democratic party, led his nearest opponent, Bakir Izetbegović, by fewer than three percentage points. Both Filipović and Bećirović declared victory late Sunday.
Total votes cast were 1,432,269, with a turnout of 42%, an 8% decrease from the 2022 election. Bosnia's complex governing institutions were established by a 1995 US-brokered peace agreement to manage ethnic divisions between Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats. Dodik has consistently challenged these structures, advocating for Republika Srpska to separate from Bosnia.