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Bosnia’s preliminary count puts three presidency candidates ahead

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s preliminary election count put Željka Cvijanović, Denis Bećirović and Darijana Filipović ahead for the three presidency seats. With counting still incomplete, Milorad Dodik claimed his party had retained power in Republika Srpska. The emerging results identify the leading candidates after voting disrupted by problems with new identification and ballot-scanning equipment.

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Two workers count paper ballots into small stacks on a table, with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s flag on the rear wall.

The count identifies presidency frontrunners

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s election commission began releasing preliminary results after the October 4 general election. Counting was still incomplete. The country’s presidency has separate seats for the Bosniak, Serb and Croat communities, so voters were choosing members of a shared executive rather than a single national president.[1], [2]

With 95 per cent of ballots counted, Željka Cvijanović led the Serb race, Denis Bećirović the Bosniak race and Darijana Filipović the Croat race. Cvijanović and Bećirović already serve on the presidency. These were preliminary standings, with certification still pending.[1]

Dodik claims his party retained power

Milorad Dodik, former president of Republika Srpska, Bosnia’s Serb entity, told supporters in Banja Luka that his party had retained power there and its national presidency seat. He thanked US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Dodik was not on the ballot after a conviction for overstepping his powers and a six-year ban from the presidency.[1]

Technical problems extended some voting

Turnout was around 42 per cent. Biometric identification and paper-ballot scanning were introduced at thousands of polling stations. Authorities reported technical problems that required voting extensions at some stations, while no major incidents were reported. The Dayton settlement that ended the 1992–1995 war links Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat federation through a central government with limited powers.[1]

References

  1. News sourceAFPEarly Bosnia count identifies leaders for three presidency seats↩1↩2↩3↩4
  2. News sourceN1Bosnia’s election commission publishes preliminary results↩
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