Bosnia Heads Into Sunday Election With Country’s Postwar Order Under Strain

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Bosnia and Herzegovina heads into elections Sunday with its postwar political settlement under renewed strain as disputes over Republika Srpska’s autonomy, foreign intervention and the country’s constitutional future continue to divide its leaders.

More than 3.4 million registered voters are eligible to cast ballots Oct. 4 for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s tripartite presidency, national parliament and regional governments, including the president and National Assembly of Republika Srpska, according to the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has been divided into two entities since the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement: Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to the country’s Dayton-established constitution. The arrangement ended the 1992-1995 Bosnian War, and left substantial authority with the entities while establishing common institutions at the national level.

The government of Bosnia and Herzegovina has an incredibly complex system of leaders and regional representatives. It has three presidents, a Bosnian, a Croatian and a Serbian, while the autonomous region of Republika Srpska also has its own president.

The race for president of Republika Srpska is centered on four candidates, according to the Central Election Commission.

Current Republika Srpska Prime Minister Savo Minić is running for the governing Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, or SNSD, which is led by former President Milorad Dodik. Branko Blanuša, president of the opposition Serb Democratic Party, or SDS, is a professor at the University of Banja Luka and has consolidated support from much of the Republika Srpska opposition.

The other presidential candidates are Bogdan Jovanović, leader of the Život party, and independent candidate Marko Jorgić, according to the commission.

Željka Cvijanović and Marinko Božović are competing for the Serb seat in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s three-member presidency. Cvijanović is the incumbent Serb member of the state-level presidency and previously served as both prime minister and president of Republika Srpska, according to her official presidency biography. She is running on behalf of the ruling SNSD and is closely aligned with Dodik.

Dodik previously called for the independence of Republika Srpska in an exclusive interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation.