Bosnia General Election Opens With Biometric Voting, Dodik Test

Polling stations across Bosnia and Herzegovina opened at 08:00 local time on Sunday for general elections that will fill the three-member state presidency, the national parliament, and the legislatures of the country's two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska. About 3.4 million voters are eligible to cast ballots at roughly 4,500 stations, all equipped with biometric verification, ballot scanners, and video surveillance for the first time.

The election is widely seen as a test for Milorad Dodik, the long-time Serb leader who was removed as Republika Srpska president in 2025 after defying the international High Representative. Although a court ruling bars him from holding that office for six years, Dodik led his SNSD party's campaign and declared at a Friday rally that "Bosnia-Herzegovina is dead."

“Bosnia-Herzegovina is dead; it is an unviable country — it makes no sense.”

The Serb member of the state presidency is contested by Zeljka Cvijanovic, Marinko Bozovic, and Nebojsa Vukanovic. The Bosniak seat pits incumbent Denis Becirovic against Bakir Izetbegovic, Semir Efendic, and Fahrudin Radoncic, while the Croat seat features Darijana Filipovic, Zdenko Lucic, and Slaven Kovacevic.

In the Republika Srpska presidential race, SNSD candidate Savo Minic faces Branko Blanusa of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS). Polls close at 20:00, and the Central Election Commission plans to release initial results the same evening, earlier than the typical late-night announcements in previous cycles.