Polling stations have now closed for Bosnia’s general elections on Sunday, the preliminary results of which remain uncertain, and the country awaits further updates in the coming hours to have a clearer idea of the outcome.
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Some 3.4 million voters were eligible to elect the three members of the multi-ethnic presidency, national lawmakers and leaders of the country’s two entities: the Muslim-majority Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Serb-majority Republika Srpska.
This complex system of institutions was created by the 1995 peace agreement brokered by the United States to manage divisions between Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats.
Early reports show voting was delayed at several polling stations due to problems with new digital voting technology, introduced to address earlier concerns about vote tampering. The Bosnian Election Commission made the decision to extend the voting deadline to 7 p.m. in polling stations that were experiencing problems.
The elections come as many citizens of the multi-ethnic Balkan state face daily problems, while some prominent politicians stoke war tensions that have kept the country divided since the 1992-1995 conflict.
By 3 p.m., about 27% of voters had voted, according to the commission, a drop from 35% recorded at the same time during the last national elections.
New election security measures
For the first time, authorities used electronic voter identification and ballot scanning to combat irregularities and organized manipulation that undermined confidence in previous elections.
Most of the 75 competing parties are organized along ethnic lines. The Bosnian nationalist Party of Democratic Action has campaigned to keep Bosnia united against Serbian separatism, while many Bosnian Croats support ethnic parties such as the local branch of Croatia’s ruling Croatian Democratic Union.
Izetbegovic, who was defeated by Becirovic in 2022, is seeking a third term as president of the center-right SDA, the country’s largest Bosnian party.
Many disillusioned citizens say politicians are using nationalism to avoid tackling real problems like low living standards and youth exodus. Ivan Silic, a voter from Mostar, said nothing had improved since his first vote and politicians were living well while everyone’s situation remained the same.
Dodik occupies an important place even if he is not registered on the ballot
Although not on the ballot, the campaign was dominated by Milorad Dodik, the former pro-Russian separatist president of Republika Srpska. Dodik is banned from all public office after being found guilty of defying the international envoy overseeing the peace deal.
After meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Dodik leads a party, the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, that is likely to win in Republika Srpska.
At a final rally Friday in Banja Luka, attended by Russian Ambassador Igor Khalabukov, Dodik said Bosnia was “dead” and “an impossible country.” “It makes no sense,” he stressed.
Outside the polls for the first time in almost 30 years, he is still in charge and is present in all the country’s media, says Dragan Bursac, analyst. For Bursac, the ban doesn’t work and Dodik exploits it.
Ethnic tensions continue to grow
Bosnia has enjoyed a period of peace in recent years, but its politicians have fueled ethnic divisions. Bosnian Serb leaders, like Dodik, pushed for the secession of their entity, making Westerners fear new instability.
The Balkan nation remains one of Europe’s poorest countries, still recovering from a war that began after it declared independence from Serb-led Yugoslavia and ethnic Serbs took up arms to carve out their own state. This conflict has killed more than 100,000 people and displaced millions.
The country is officially seeking to join the European Union, but progress has stalled despite the EU’s efforts to push its leaders toward reforms.
The great powers continue to influence the socio-economic and political life of this small Balkan country. Russia is holding back EU efforts to expand its membership across the entire Balkans, including Bosnia, while continuing to support Republika Srpska.
While a $1.5 billion pipeline project to import US liquefied natural gas is being pushed by a company linked to the Trump administration as part of US efforts to gain influence.
And recently, the wounds of war have been reopened by public tributes in Serbia and among Bosnian Serbs to Ratko Mladic, the war army commander who died in late August while serving a life sentence for genocide and other war crimes.
Bosnian Serbs consider him a hero, despite his conviction by a UN tribunal for the murder of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995.
Senior Bosnian Serb officials attended his funeral in Belgrade, drawing sharp criticism from the EU and anger from Bosnian politicians.
Gn world
