About this election
Bosnia and Herzegovina is scheduled to hold general elections on 4 October 2026, renewing the country's uniquely complex set of institutions: the three-member state Presidency, the state-level House of Representatives, the entity assemblies and presidencies, and cantonal parliaments. Designed by the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement that ended the Bosnian War, this layered system shares power among the country's three constituent peoples — Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs — across two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, plus the self-governing Brčko District. The 2026 vote takes place amid acute tension over the future of the state itself, following the conviction and removal from office of the long-time Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik.
Voters elect multiple bodies at once. The state Presidency has three members elected directly for four-year terms: a Bosniak and a Croat chosen by voters in the Federation, and a Serb chosen by voters in Republika Srpska, each by simple plurality. The state House of Representatives has 42 members — 28 elected from the Federation and 14 from Republika Srpska — by open-list proportional representation, and it forms one chamber of the state parliament alongside the indirectly constituted House of Peoples. At the same time, voters choose the entity-level assemblies (the Federation House of Representatives and the Republika Srpska National Assembly), the directly elected President of Republika Srpska, and the ten cantonal assemblies in the Federation. This makes a Bosnian general election one of the most institutionally intricate votes in Europe.
Politics is organised largely along ethnic lines. Among Bosnian Serbs, Milorad Dodik's SNSD has been dominant, championing the autonomy of Republika Srpska and at times threatening secession, against the rival SDS and PDP. Among Croats, the HDZ BiH led by Dragan Čović is the main force. Among Bosniaks, the long-established SDA competes with newer parties such as the centrist People and Justice (NiP) and the multi-ethnic, civic-oriented SDP and Our Party. The Office of the High Representative, an international body created by Dayton, retains powers to impose laws and remove officials — a continuing source of controversy, especially in Republika Srpska.
In the October 2022 elections, voters chose a Presidency that mixed pro-state and pro-autonomy figures, and the SDA remained the largest party in the state House of Representatives.
| 2022 Presidency (elected member) | Vote % |
| Denis Bećirović — Bosniak seat (SDP) | 57.37 |
| Željko Komšić — Croat seat (DF) | 55.80 |
| Željka Cvijanović — Serb seat (SNSD) | 51.65 |
In the 42-seat state House of Representatives, the SDA won 9 seats, the SNSD 6, the SDP BiH 5, the HDZ BiH 4, and a long tail of smaller parties — the Democratic Front, People and Justice, SDS, PDP, Our Party and others — shared the rest, so government formation again required broad multi-party coalitions.
The overriding question is how the crisis surrounding Milorad Dodik reshapes politics in Republika Srpska after his 2025 conviction and ban from office triggered a separate early presidential election there. Other key issues include whether civic, multi-ethnic parties can build on recent gains, the pace of Bosnia's EU accession (it was granted candidate status in 2022 and opened negotiations in 2024), and persistent problems of corruption, emigration and economic stagnation. Because the Presidency and parliaments are elected on ethnic lines, the durability of the Dayton settlement itself is, as ever, on the ballot.
The country's electoral map mirrors its constitutional structure: Republika Srpska in the north and east votes overwhelmingly for Serb parties, Croat-majority areas of Herzegovina and central Bosnia for the HDZ, and Bosniak-majority cantons and the cities of Sarajevo and Tuzla for Bosniak and multi-ethnic parties. ElectioMap will map results across the entities and cantons as official figures are released by the Central Election Commission.
This page will report the three Presidency races and the state House of Representatives result, with a map of the entities and cantons, as counting proceeds. Figures are sourced from the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the body that administers and certifies the elections.
It is scheduled for 4 October 2026. Voters elect the three-member state Presidency, the state House of Representatives, the entity assemblies and presidencies, and cantonal parliaments — all on the same day.
Under the 1995 Dayton framework, the Presidency has a Bosniak, a Croat (both elected in the Federation) and a Serb member (elected in Republika Srpska), each by plurality. The 42-seat state House of Representatives is elected by open-list proportional representation, 28 seats from the Federation and 14 from Republika Srpska.
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik (SNSD) was convicted in 2025 and barred from office, triggering a separate early presidential election in Republika Srpska. His push for entity autonomy and the role of the international High Representative keep the survival of the Dayton settlement in question.
Politics runs largely along ethnic lines: the SNSD among Serbs, the HDZ BiH among Croats, and the SDA, alongside newer parties such as People and Justice (NiP) and the multi-ethnic SDP and Our Party, among Bosniaks and civic voters.
The Central Election Commission reports preliminary results in the days after the vote and certifies the final count thereafter. Live figures and a map of the entities and cantons will appear here as counting proceeds.
Compiled and reviewed by Bartłomiej Paruzel, Election Data Analyst, from official results. See our data methodology.