Bosnian Serb nationalist politician Milorad Dodik declared his party's victory in Sunday's election in Bosnia and Herzegovina, amid economic pressures and ethnic tensions as the Balkan country considers the possibility of joining the European Union.
Cvijanović leads in three-member presidency election
Results after about 90% of the votes had been counted showed Željka Cvijanović, an ally of Dodik and candidate for the right-wing Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, receiving more than 55% of the vote. She consequently won one of the three seats on the tripartite presidency, leading her closest rival by about 30 percentage points.
In the race for the other two presidency seats, Denis Bećirović received 38.03% of the vote in the contest for the Bosniak seat, while Darijana Filipović won 48.19% in the race for the Croat seat. Dodik said at a late-night news conference on Sunday that his nationalist party would also secure an «overwhelming majority» in the parliament of Republika Srpska.
He attributed the result he announced to US President Donald Trump's «wonderful victory» in 2024 and to the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Dodik added: "No one should ask us to change our policy. We will not give in; we will continue working for our people… I cannot believe that we achieved this great victory in this way".
Power-sharing system formed after peace agreement
About 3 million 400 thousand voters were called on to choose officials under a complex power-sharing system between Muslim Bosniaks, Catholic Croats and Orthodox Serbs. The system emerged from the peace agreement concluded in 1995, after the war that engulfed the country between 1992 and 1995.
The election took place in a divided country considered one of Europe's poorest, and represented a test for 67-year-old Dodik, who has held power in the Serb entity since 2006. He was removed as president in 2025 for failing to comply with the authority of the international high representative tasked with overseeing implementation of the peace agreement. Although Dodik's name, and his strong support for Russia, did not appear on the ballot, he dominated the election campaign.
His separatist rhetoric raised fears of renewed instability in Bosnia, amid ethnic divisions that have persisted since the war. At his party's final election rally on Friday, Dodik said: "Bosnia and Herzegovina is dead; it is an impossible state and makes no sense".
According to Central Election Commission data, turnout was 41.48%, down by nearly 10 points from the general election held on 2 October 2022, when turnout reached 51.45%.
