IFES Election Guide | Country Profile: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

3,185,070	14
Population (as of Jan. 1, 2023)	Elections in our database
3,368,666	61.22%
Registered Voters (as of None)	Average Turnout

Name	Official Name	Type
Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives	Predstavnicki Dom	Lower House
Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency	Chairman of the Presidency	Head of State
Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Peoples	Dom Naroda	Upper House

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: Chairman of the Presidency Zeljka CVIJANOVIC, in rotation with Zeljko KOMSIC and Denis BESIROVIC *
Head of Government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Borjana KRISTO (since 25 January 2023)
Assembly: bicameral Parliamentary Assembly (Skupstina) consisting of the House of Peoples (Dom Naroda) with 15 seats and the House of Representatives (Predstavnicki Dom) with 42 seats

* The presidency is a collective head of state which is constituted of three members of each constituent people: one Bosniak, one Croat and one Serb. The three members rotate every eight months. Zeljka CVIJANOVIC (Serb) assumed the Chairman of the Presidency in November 2024.

Description of electoral system:

The Chairman of the Presidency is elected by plurality vote to serve a 4-year term.*
The Chairman of the Council of Ministers is appointed by the president with the approval of the parliament.
In the House of Peoples (Dom Naroda) 15 members are indirectly elected by parliament to serve 4-year terms**. In the House of Representatives (Predstavnicki Dom) 42 members are elected through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.***

* Each of the presidency member is elected via a separate list, with each voter in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina choosing either a Bosniak or Croat candidate and those in the Republika Srpska electing a Serb candidate.

** The seats are made up of 5 Bosniaks, 5 Croats, and 5 Serbs. Members are elected by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovnia's House of Representatives and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly.

*** 28 seats are allocated from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and 14 seats from the Republika Srpska (RS). In the FBiH, 21 of the 28 deputies are elected in five multi-member constituencies. The remaining seven are elected from political party compensatory lists. In the RS, 9 of the 14 deputies are elected in three multi-member constituencies, with the remaining five elected from political party compensatory lists. There is a 3 percent threshold for entering parliament. Bosnia and Herzegovina utilizes a "zipper" style gender quota, which means that members of the "minority gender" must be equally spaced out in the party list. Parties must allocate approximately one-third of their seats to the "minority gender." Seats are allocated using the pure Sainte-Lague method.

Elections

2022-10-02
Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency
Votes 1,733,206
Registered 3,368,666
Turnout 51.45

2022-10-02
Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives
Votes 1,733,260
Registered 3,368,666
Turnout 51.45

2018-10-07
Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Peoples
Votes 42
Registered 42
Turnout 100.0

2018-10-07
Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives
Votes 1,812,960
Registered 3,355,429
Turnout 54.03

2018-10-07
Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency
Votes 1,812,575
Registered 3,355,429
Turnout 54.02

2014-10-12
Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives
Votes 1,782,181
Registered 3,278,908
Turnout 54.35

2014-10-12
Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency
Votes 1,788,193
Registered 3,278,908
Turnout 54.54

2014-10-12
Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Peoples
Votes 42
Registered 42
Turnout 100.0

2010-10-03
Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives
Votes 1,769,249
Registered 3,132,231
Turnout 56.49

2010-10-03
Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency
Votes 1,768,573
Registered 3,129,599
Turnout 56.51

2006-10-01
Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives
Votes 1,513,597
Registered 2,775,207
Turnout 54.54

2006-10-01
Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency
Votes 1,391,748
Registered 2,755,207
Turnout 50.51

2002-10-05
Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency
Votes 1,298,827
Registered 2,342,141
Turnout 55.45

2000-11-11
Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives
Votes 1,597,805
Registered 2,508,349
Turnout 63.7

Election For	Date	Votes	Registered Voters	Turnout
Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency	2022-10-02	1,733,206	3,368,666	51.45
Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives	2022-10-02	1,733,260	3,368,666	51.45
Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Peoples	2018-10-07	42	42	100.0
Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives	2018-10-07	1,812,960	3,355,429	54.03
Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency	2018-10-07	1,812,575	3,355,429	54.02
Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives	2014-10-12	1,782,181	3,278,908	54.35
Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency	2014-10-12	1,788,193	3,278,908	54.54
Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Peoples	2014-10-12	42	42	100.0
Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives	2010-10-03	1,769,249	3,132,231	56.49
Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency	2010-10-03	1,768,573	3,129,599	56.51
Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives	2006-10-01	1,513,597	2,775,207	54.54
Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency	2006-10-01	1,391,748	2,755,207	50.51
Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency	2002-10-05	1,298,827	2,342,141	55.45
Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives	2000-11-11	1,597,805	2,508,349	63.7

Voter Turnout

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