Polls closed in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Sunday evening, where around 3.4 million voters were eligible to take part in the Balkan country's general election.
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voters → close → election
With more than 90% of votes tallied, the Central Election Commission (CIK) said turnout for Sunday's election was a record-low 41.5%, down from 51.5% in 2022.
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turnout → tally → 2022
Nationalist parties dominated races as citizens chose officials across multiple tiers of government; including members of the country's multiethnic, tripartite presidency.
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citizens → dominate → presidency
With counting nearly concluded, Serb nationalist Zeljka Cvijanovic, Bosniak moderate leftist Denis Becirovic and Croat nationalist Darijana Filipovic have been announced as the winners of the presdential seats of their respective ethnicities.
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Cvijanovic → conclude → ethnicities
Cvijanovic had been backed by the Republika Srpska's former secessionist leader Milorad Dodik, who was barred from holding public office for six years after being convicted of defying the top international envoy overseeing the 1995 peace process.
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who → back → process
"I am declaring that we have won," Dodik told supporters in Banja Luka on Sunday night.
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Dodik → declare → night
He said his SNSD party had retained the Serb seat in the presidency and remained power in Republika Srpska.
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party → say → Srpska
With counting nearly over, Cvijanovic looked to have won with 55.6% of the vote.
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Cvijanovic → look → vote
Social Democrat Becirovic won the race for the Bosniak seat with 38.1% of the vote, while Croat Filipovic took 48.2% of the vote.
Nationalist and ethnic political division
Voters also chose lawmakers for the federal parliament and the heads of institutions for the country's two largely autonomous entities — the Muslim-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and the Serb-run Republika Srpska (RS).
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Voters → win → Bosnia
Between 1992 and 1995, more than two milion people were displaced and nearly 100,000 killed in a civil war started by Serbia.
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100,000 → displace → Serbia
The country has been peaceful in recent years but ethnonationalist parties have kept divisions alive even as voters say they want to move on from the war-era rhetoric.
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they → keep → rhetoric
There's been an economic downturn, sluggish progress toward EU membership, and sustained political gridlock — with dominant ethnic parties from these entities repeatedly stalling decisions by the weak central government that binds them.
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that → be → them
The election saw contests that pitted the Bosniak SDA, Serb SNSD and Croat HDZ BiH against multi-ethnic opposition coalitions led by the Social Democratic Party.
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that → see → Party
Polls closed at 7 p.m. local time (1700 GMT), with preliminary results to be released later in the evening — though complex constitutional order and drawn out coalition talks mean that the true result of Sunday's election could remain unclear for months.
What is the system that governs Bosnia-Herzegovina?
The economic, administrative and political responsibilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina are divided between the multiethnic central government, the two semi-autonomous entities FBiH and RS, and the self-governing neutral Brcko district.
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responsibilities → close → government
These entities are further split into several cantons and communities.
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entities → split → cantons
The complicated framework — divided along ethnic lines — was set up during the US-brokered 1995 Dayton Peace Accords, following the 1992-95 Bosnian war, itself a consequence of the breakup of Yugoslavia.
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itself → divide → Yugoslavia
Milorad Dodik not on the ballot but still dominant in Republika Srpska
In Republika Srpska, secessionist leader Milorad Dodik of the SNSD party remained the key figure of the election despite not being on the ballot.
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Dodik → remain → ballot
Dodik, the former president of the Serb-majority entity, is barred from holding public office for six years after being convicted of defying the top international envoy overseeing the 1995 peace process.
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Dodik → bar → process
Dodik-backed Savo Minic decisively won the Republika Srpska's presidency and RS increased its heft by taking 39% of the parliamentary tally, up from 34.6% in 2022.
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RS → back → 2022
Dodik, who just returned from meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, wants close ties to Serbia and Russia and seccession from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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who → return → Bosnia
"Bosnia and Herzegovina is dead, it is an impossible country," Dodik told supporters at the final rally of his in Banja Luka on Friday.
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Dodik → tell → Friday
What is happening in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina?
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What → happen → Bosnia
In the Muslim-Croat federation, Bosniak parties are advocating for a stronger central state.
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parties → advocate → state
The main Bosniak SDA party is focused on efforts to keep the country united against Serb separatism.
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party → focus → separatism
Bosnian Croats are also largely backing their ethnic parties, including the Bosnian branch of Croatia's ruling conservative Croatian Democratic Union.
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Croats → back → Union
Meanwhile, Denis Becirovic, the incumbent Bosniak presidency member, has vowed a renewed path to the EU and NATO.
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Becirovic → vow → EU
Bosnia and Herzegovina has been a candidate for EU membership since 2022.
But the actual start of membership talks depends on the prior implementation of numerous reforms, including strengthening judicial oversight and passing anti-corruption laws.
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start → depend → laws
Edited by: Natalie Muller
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you → edit → news
The Aporia
