Bosnia and Herzegovina held general elections on 4 October. Preliminary results from the Central Election Commission, with almost all ballots counted, show the country's established parties holding their ground, and turnout falling to a new low.

The presidency

Bosnia has a three-member presidency, with one Bosniak, one Croat and one Serb member.

  • Bosniak seat: Denis Bećirović of the Social Democratic Party (SDP BiH) won about 38 per cent, ahead of Bakir Izetbegović of the SDA on about 34 per cent.
  • Croat seat: Darijana Filipović of HDZ BiH won about 47 per cent, against 30 per cent for Slaven Kovačević of the Democratic Front. The seat had been held by the Democratic Front's Željko Komšić.
  • Serb seat: Željka Cvijanović of the SNSD kept her seat with about 56 per cent, ahead of Marinko Božović of the SDS.

The state parliament

In the 42-seat House of Representatives, where 22 seats make a majority, the SDA is the largest party with 9 seats, followed by the SNSD with 6, the SDP with 5 and HDZ BiH with 4. The Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (SBiH) returned with 3 seats, and the new Safe Srpska Movement won 2. The liberal Naša stranka fell to a single seat, losing ground even in its Sarajevo stronghold.

Low turnout, long talks

Turnout for the parliamentary vote was around 40 per cent, the lowest ever recorded for a general election in the country. Forming governments at state and entity level is expected to take months, because the indirect election of the Federation's House of Peoples is still to come.

Sources