2022 Bosnian general election

General elections were held in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 2 October 2022. They decided the makeup of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Presidency as well as national, entity, and cantonal governments.

2022 Bosnian general election

← 2018 2 October 2022 2026 →
Turnout	51.45% ( 2.57 pp)
Bosniak member of the Presidency
Candidate Denis Bećirović Bakir Izetbegović Party SDP BiH SDA Popular vote 330,238 214,412 Percentage 57.37% 37.25%
Croat member of the Presidency
Candidate Željko Komšić Borjana Krišto Party DF HDZ BiH Popular vote 227,540 180,255 Percentage 55.80% 44.20%
Serb member of the Presidency
Candidate Željka Cvijanović Mirko Šarović Party SNSD SDS Popular vote 327,720 224,912 Percentage 51.65% 35.45%
Presidency members before election Šefik Džaferović (Bosniak) Željko Komšić (Croat) Milorad Dodik (Serb) Elected Presidency members Denis Bećirović (Bosniak) Željko Komšić (Croat) Željka Cvijanović (Serb)
House of Representatives
All 42 seats in the House of Representatives 22 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	51.45% ( 2.58 pp)
Party Leader % Seats +/– SDA Bakir Izetbegović 17.23 9 0 SNSD Milorad Dodik 16.34 6 0 HDZ BiH Dragan Čović 8.75 4 -1 SDP BiH Nermin Nikšić 8.15 5 0 SDS Mirko Šarović 7.07 2 -1 DF–GS Željko Komšić 6.41 3 0 NiP Elmedin Konaković 5.01 3 +3 PDP Branislav Borenović 4.63 2 0 NS Edin Forto 3.12 2 0 NES–ZNG Nermin Ogrešević 2.97 2 +1 ZPR Nebojša Vukanović 2.08 1 New DEMOS Nedeljko Čubrilović 1.93 1 New US Nenad Stevandić 1.55 1 New BHI Fuad Kasumović 1.28 1 New Most voted-for party by municipality Chairman before Chairman after Zoran Tegeltija SNSD Borjana Krišto HDZ BiH

The elections for the House of Representatives were divided into two; one for the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and one for Republika Srpska. In the presidential election, voters in the Federation elected Bosniak Denis Bećirović and re-elected Croat Željko Komšić, while voters in Republika Srpska elected Serb Željka Cvijanović. The Party of Democratic Action emerged as the largest party in the House of Representatives, winning 9 of the 42 seats.

Background

See also: 2018 Bosnian general election

At the 2018 Bosnian general election, Šefik Džaferović of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), Željko Komšić of the Democratic Front (DF) and Milorad Dodik of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) were elected as the new Bosnian Presidency members, succeeding Bakir Izetbegović, Dragan Čović and Mladen Ivanić respectively.^[1] The SDA emerged as the largest party in the national House of Representatives, winning 9 of the 42 seats.

There was controversy over the election of the Croat member, as the non-nationalist candidate Željko Komšić won against the nationalist Dragan Čović (HDZ BiH) with the help of Bosniak voters, with Komšić winning first place almost exclusively in municipalities without a Croat relative majority. The result prompted protests of Croats accusing Bosniaks of out-voting and calling for the creation of their own entity or electoral constituency. In the following days, protests were held in the city of Mostar with signs "Not my president".^[2][3] In the days following the election, several municipalities with Croat majority declared Komšić persona non grata.^[4][5]

Following the 2018 election, the new Council of Ministers cabinet was confirmed by the House of Representatives after a one-year governmental formation crisis. The SNSD's Zoran Tegeltija was appointed Chairman of the Council of Ministers on 23 December 2019.^[6]

Tegeltija's Cabinet was supported by a coalition of the SNSD, the Croatian Democratic Union, the SDA, the DF and the Democratic People's Alliance. The major opposition was the coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Our Party (NS) and the People and Justice (NiP) party. The coalition of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) and the Party of Democratic Progress (PDP) was the major opposition in Republika Srpska.

In the Bosnian municipal elections that took place in November 2020, there were significant defeats for the ruling parties SDA and SNSD.^[7] The SDA lost, among other municipalities, Centar, Novo Sarajevo and Ilidža to a social-liberal coalition to which the SDP, NS and NiP belong. The SNSD lost Banja Luka, to the liberal-conservative PDP and was also unable to assert itself against the moderately nationalist SDS in Bijeljina.^[7]

At a House of Representatives session held in January 2021, a vote of no confidence in Tegeltija took place, due to poor performance results during his term as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, but by the end of the voting, it was clear that Tegeltija was staying as Chairman of the Council of Ministers.^[8] Three months later, on 28 April, another vote of no confidence in Tegeltija took place at a House of Representatives session, but again, Tegeltija continued serving as Chairman.^[9]

Electoral system

 

Official logo of the election

National elections

Presidency

The three members of the Presidency are elected by plurality. In Republika Srpska voters elect the Serb representative, whilst in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina voters elect the Bosniak and Croat members.^[10] Voters registered in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina can vote for either the Bosniak or Croat candidate, but cannot vote in both elections.

House of Representatives

The House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Bosnian Parliament, has 42 members who are elected at entity level according to proportional representation.^[11] Voters in the Brčko District are free to vote for the Republika Srpska or Federal constituency.^[12] The Federation sends 28 representatives to parliament, while Republika Srpska send 14 of them. Of the 28 representatives of the Federation, 21 are elected in five multi-person constituencies (number of deputies 3-6), to ensure proportionality, seven compensatory mandates according to the Sainte-Laguë procedure. Of the 14 MPs of Republika Srpska, nine are elected in the constituencies (three MPs each) and five via entity-wide equalization mandates.^[12] There is a three percent threshold at the entity level.

Elections in Republika Srpska

Presidency

There is a list of candidates, whereby the candidate who gets the most votes (usually a Serb) is elected president; there is no runoff. The first-placed candidates from the other two ethnic groups (usually a Bosniak and a Croat) are elected as vice-presidents. The term of office of the President of Republika Srpska is four years with an option for one-time re-election. A renewed candidacy is possible again after a break of at least one term of office.^[12]

National Assembly

The lower chamber of Republika Srpska, the National Assembly, is composed of 83 members elected by proportional representation. The election takes place in nine multi-person constituencies with entity-wide balancing mandates. Furthermore, at least four representatives should be represented in the National Assembly from each of the constitutive peoples. There is a three percent threshold.^[12]

Elections in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Presidency

Unlike in Republika Srpska, the president of the Federation and the two vice-presidents are not elected by direct election: The first chamber of the Federal Parliament, the House of Peoples, nominates candidates for the presidency and the vice-presidencies, followed by the second chamber, the House of Representatives, must confirm this nomination by election. Subsequently, confirmation by the majority of the delegates of all three constitutive ethnic groups in the House of Peoples is required.^[12]

House of Representatives

The House of Representatives of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has a total of 98 members who are elected by proportional representation. The election takes place in 12 multi-person constituencies with entity-wide balancing mandates. In the Federal House of Representatives, each constitutive ethnic group should be represented by at least four members. The threshold is three percent.^[12]

Cantonal Assemblies

The assemblies of the 10 cantons of the Federation are also elected. The election is based on proportional representation with a threshold of three percent. The individual cantonal assemblies send members to the House of Peoples.^[12]

Presidency candidates

Declared candidates

The following were the official candidates who ran for Presidency member.^[13]

Bosniak member election

#	Candidate		Affiliation		Background	Reference
1		Bakir Izetbegović		Party of Democratic Action	Member of the Presidency (2010–2018) President of the Party of Democratic Action (2014–present)	^[14]
2		Mirsad Hadžikadić		Platform for Progress	Director of the Institute of Complex Systems at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte	^[15]
3		Denis Bećirović		Social Democratic Party	Vice-president of the Social Democratic Party (2009–present) Member of the House of Peoples (2019–2022)	^[16]

Croat member election

#	Candidate		Affiliation		Background	Reference
1		Željko Komšić		Democratic Front	Member of the Presidency (2018–present; 2006–2014)	^[17]
2		Borjana Krišto		Croatian Democratic Union	President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2007–2011) Member of the House of Representatives (2014–2022)	^[18]

Serb member election

#	Candidate		Affiliation		Background	Reference
1		Željka Cvijanović		Alliance of Independent Social Democrats	President of Republika Srpska (2018–2022) Prime Minister of Republika Srpska (2013–2018)	^[19]
2		Nenad Nešić		Democratic People's Alliance	Member of the House of Representatives (2018–2022) President of the Democratic People's Alliance (2020–present)	^[20]
3		Vojin Mijatović		Social Democratic Party	Vice-president of the Social Democratic Party	^[21]
4		Mirko Šarović		Serb Democratic Party	Member of the Presidency (2002–2003) President of Republika Srpska (2000–2002) President of the Serb Democratic Party (2019–2022)	^[22]
5		Borislav Bijelić		Party of Life		^[23]

Declined to be candidates

The individuals in this section were the subject of speculation about their possible candidacy, but publicly denied interest in running.

• Fahrudin Radončić, current president of the Union for a Better Future of BiH (2009–present)^[20]
• Šefik Džaferović, former Presidency member (2018–2022)^[24]
• Haris Silajdžić, founder of the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina; former Presidency member (2006–2010); former Prime Minister of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1993–1996)^[25]

Results

Presidency

 

Results by municipality for the Serb member of the Presidency

The elected members of the national Presidency were Denis Bećirović (Bosniak, SDP BiH), Željko Komšić (Croat, DF) and Željka Cvijanović (Serb, SNSD).^[26]

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
Bosniak member
	Denis Bećirović	Social Democratic Party	330,238	57.37
	Bakir Izetbegović	Party of Democratic Action	214,412	37.25
	Mirsad Hadžikadić	Platform for Progress	30,968	5.38
Total			575,618	100.00
Croat member
	Željko Komšić	Democratic Front	227,540	55.80
	Borjana Krišto	Croatian Democratic Union	180,255	44.20
Total			407,795	100.00
Serb member
	Željka Cvijanović	Alliance of Independent Social Democrats	327,720	51.65
	Mirko Šarović	Serb Democratic Party	224,912	35.45
	Vojin Mijatović	Social Democratic Party	38,655	6.09
	Nenad Nešić	Democratic People's Alliance	34,955	5.51
	Borislav Bijelić	Party of Life	8,278	1.30
Total			634,520	100.00
Valid votes			1,617,933	93.35
Invalid votes			46,902	2.71
Blank votes			68,371	3.94
Total votes			1,733,206	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			3,368,666	51.45
Source: Centralna izborna komisija BiH OSCE

House of Representatives

6 5 2 3 1 2 2 3 1 1 4 9 2 1
Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Party of Democratic Action	273,545	17.23	9	0
	Alliance of Independent Social Democrats	259,521	16.34	6	0
	Croatian Democratic Union	139,018	8.75	4	–1
	Social Democratic Party	129,499	8.15	5	0
	Serb Democratic Party	112,250	7.07	2	–1
	Democratic Front–Civic Alliance	101,713	6.41	3	0
	People and Justice	79,555	5.01	3	+3
	Party of Democratic Progress	73,489	4.63	2	0
	Our Party	49,481	3.12	2	0
	People's European Union–For New Generations	47,157	2.97	2	+1
	For Justice and Order	32,982	2.08	1	New
	Democratic Union	30,591	1.93	1	New
	Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina	26,480	1.67	0	0
	HDZ 1990–Croatian National Shift	25,691	1.62	0	0
	Platform for Progress–Independent Bloc	25,007	1.57	0	–1
	Union for a Better Future of BiH	24,786	1.56	0	–2
	United Srpska	24,687	1.55	1	+1
	Socialist Party	23,018	1.45	0	–1
	Democratic People's Alliance	21,832	1.37	0	–1
	Bosnian-Herzegovinian Initiative	20,259	1.28	1	New
	Bosnian Party	17,721	1.12	0	0
	Movement of Democratic Action	14,889	0.94	0	–1
	Social Democrats	11,831	0.75	0	New
	Croatian Republican Party	11,231	0.71	0	New
	Labour Party	3,727	0.23	0	0
	Bosnian-Herzegovinian Greens	3,394	0.21	0	New
	Party of Life	1,840	0.12	0	New
	Union for New Politics	706	0.04	0	0
	The Left Wing	545	0.03	0	New
	SMS	530	0.03	0	New
	Re-Balance	503	0.03	0	New
	Circle	363	0.02	0	New
	Bosnian-Herzegovinian Patriotic Party	158	0.01	0	0
Total		1,587,999	100.00	42	–
Valid votes		1,587,999	91.62
Invalid votes		57,325	3.31
Blank votes		87,956	5.07
Total votes		1,733,280	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		3,368,666	51.45
Source: Centralna izborna komisija BiH OSCE

By entity

Party		Federation		Republika Srpska
		Votes	%	Votes	%
	Party of Democratic Action	243,413	25.17	30,132	4.85
	Alliance of Independent Social Democrats	4,006	0.41	255,515	41.15
	Croatian Democratic Union	137,340	14.20	1,678	0.27
	Social Democratic Party	129,499	13.39
	Serb Democratic Party			112,250	18.08
	Democratic Front–Civic Alliance	101,713	10.52
	People and Justice	79,555	8.23
	Party of Democratic Progress	466	0.05	73,023	11.76
	Our Party	49,481	5.12
	People's European Union–For New Generations	47,157	4.88
	For Justice and Order			32,982	5.31
	Democratic Union			30,591	4.93
	Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina	26,480	2.74
	HDZ 1990–Croatian National Shift	25,246	2.61	445	0.07
	Platform for Progress–Independent Bloc	19,823	2.05	5,184	0.83
	Union for a Better Future of BiH	23,101	2.39	1,685	0.27
	United Srpska	374	0.04	24,313	3.92
	Socialist Party			23,018	3.71
	Democratic People's Alliance	188	0.02	21,644	3.49
	Bosnian-Herzegovinian Initiative	18,697	1.93	1,562	0.25
	Bosnian Party	17,721	1.83
	Movement of Democratic Action	14,889	1.54
	Social Democrats	9,928	1.03	1,903	0.31
	Croatian Republican Party	11,231	1.16
	Labour Party	3,727	0.39
	Bosnian-Herzegovinian Greens	1,765	0.18	1,629	0.26
	Party of Life			1,840	0.30
	Union for New Politics	403	0.04	303	0.05
	The Left Wing	171	0.02	374	0.06
	SMS	224	0.02	306	0.05
	Re-Balance	163	0.02	340	0.05
	Circle	104	0.01	259	0.04
	Bosnian-Herzegovinian Patriotic Party	158	0.02
Total		967,023	100.00	620,976	100.00
Valid votes		967,023	91.56	620,976	91.71
Invalid/blank votes		89,142	8.44	56,119	8.29
Total votes		1,056,165	100.00	677,095	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		2,109,344	50.07	1,259,322	53.77

Allegations of voter fraud

Following the release of the preliminary results in the Republika Srpska entity elections, opposition parties filed accusations of electoral fraud directly against the leading candidate Milorad Dodik, who they claimed had coordinated stuffing ballot boxes with thousands of illegal votes to put the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats ahead in the polls and that Jelena Trivić of the Party of Democratic Progress was the true winner of the Republika Srpska presidential election.^[27][28] As a result of the allegations, the Central Election Commission began a recount of the ballots.^[29] When the Election Commission verified the preliminary results, they did not verify the Republika Srpska elections.^[30] However on 27 October, officials confirmed Dodik's victory. The commission noted that while there were irregularities, none were on a level that would have changed the outcome of the election.^[31]

Aftermath

On 15 December 2022, a coalition led by the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ BiH) and the Social Democratic Party reached an agreement on the formation of a new government for the 2022–2026 parliamentary term, designating Borjana Krišto (HDZ BiH) as the new Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers.^[32] The Presidency officially nominated Krišto as chairwoman-designate on 22 December.^[33] The national House of Representatives confirmed her appointment on 28 December.^[34] On 25 January 2023, the House of Representatives confirmed the appointment of Krišto's cabinet.^[35]

See also

• 2022 Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina general election
• 2022 Republika Srpska general election

References

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10. Maja Sahadžic (2009) The Electoral System of Bosnia and Herzegovina: A Short Review of Political Matter and/or Technical Perplexion 27 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine Contemporary Issues, Vol. 2, No. 1
11. Electoral System 3 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine IPU
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13. "Kandidatske liste Opći izbori 2022" [Candidate lists General elections 2022.] (PDF). Centralna izborna komisija BiH (in Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian). 5 August 2022. (PDF) from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
14. N.Š. (5 July 2021). "Izetbegović najavio kandidaturu za Predsjedništvo: Sumnjam da Konaković ima hrabrost ući u utrku, sa Radončićem i Zvizdićem ne bi bilo dosadno" (in Bosnian). oslobodjenje.ba. from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
15. D.Be. (9 December 2021). "Potvrđena prva kandidatura za Predsjedništvo BiH, Mirsad Hadžikadić kreće u utrku" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
16. G.M. (21 May 2022). "Denis Bećirović zvanično kandidat opozicije za člana Predsjedništva BiH" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
17. D. Be. (8 May 2022). "Željko Komšić će se ponovo kandidovati za Predsjedništvo BiH: Moram, ne mogu stati" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. from the original on 8 May 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
18. "Čović odustao, Borjana Krišto kandidat za člana Predsjedništva BiH?" (in Croatian). n1info.ba. 29 June 2022. from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
19. E.Ć. (1 July 2022). "SNSD šalje Cvijanović u utrku za člana Predsjedništva BiH, Dodik kandidat za predsjednika RS" (in Bosnian). avaz.ba. from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
20. "Kandidati za Predsjedništvo BiH i predsjednika RS-a: Neka imena već poznata, ostali vagaju, pregovaraju" [Candidates for the Presidency of BiH and the President of RS: Some names are already known, others are weighing, negotiating]. Faktor (in Bosnian). 17 May 2022. from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
21. V.K. (10 June 2022). "Vojin Mijatović i zvanično kandidat SDP-a za Predsjedništvo BiH, planira pobijediti Dodika" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
22. M.G. (23 June 2022). "Mirko Šarović je kandidat SDS-a za Predsjedništvo BiH" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
23. "PRIPREME ZA IZBORE: Objavljene kompletne kandidatske liste, evo ko je sve u "izbornoj trci"" (in Serbian). Novosti. 5 August 2022. from the original on 9 September 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
24. Fu.M. (28 April 2021). "Džaferović: Neću biti kandidat 2022., član Predsjedništva će, ako Bog da, biti Bakir Izetbegović" (in Bosnian). avaz.ba. from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
25. D.Be. (21 May 2022). "Haris Silajdžić: Neću se kandidirati za predsjedništvo, reforme nakon izbora odredit će sudbinu zemlje" (in Bosnian). avaz.ba. from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
26. D.Be. (23 October 2022). "Bećirović dobio 116 hiljada glasova više od Izetbegovića, a Cvijanović sama više od svojih protukandidata skupa" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
27. "Bosnia election: Vote-rigging allegations spark more mass protests". Euronews. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
28. Kurtic, Azem. "Republika Srpska Opposition Files 'Election Fraud' Criminal Complaints". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
29. "Bosnia recounts Serb president race after reports of fraud". Associated Press. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
30. "Election commission confirms preliminary results of Bosnia general vote". Reuters. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
31. "Bosnia's Dodik declared winner in disputed election after recount". Al Jazeera Balkans. 27 October 2022.
32. "'Osmorka', HDZ BiH i SNSD potpisali 'historijski' sporazum" (in Bosnian). Al Jazeera Balkans. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
33. Svjetlana Šurlan (22 December 2022). "Borjana Krišto imenovana za predsjedavajuću Savjeta ministara BiH". bloombergadria.com (in Bosnian). Retrieved 22 December 2022.
34. N.V. (28 December 2022). "Borjana Krišto izglasana za predsjedavajuću Vijeća ministara BiH" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
35. "Bosnia Finally Forms State-Level Government". Balkan Insight. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.

External links

• Central Election Commission BiH, 2022 election