2018 Bosnian general election

2018 Bosnian general election

← 2014 7 October 2018 2022 →
Turnout	54.02% (presidential) 0.45 pp 54.03% (parliamentary) 0.44 pp
Bosniak member of the Presidency
Candidate Šefik Džaferović Denis Bećirović Party SDA SDP BiH Popular vote 212,581 194,688 Percentage 36.61% 33.53%
Croat member of the Presidency
Candidate Željko Komšić Dragan Čović Party DF HDZ BiH Popular vote 225,500 154,819 Percentage 52.64% 36.14%
Serb member of the Presidency
Candidate Milorad Dodik Mladen Ivanić Party SNSD PDP Popular vote 368,210 292,065 Percentage 53.88% 42.74%
Results of the presidential elections (from left to right: Bosniak, Croat, Serb.) Darker shade indicates a larger share of the vote for the indicated candidate.
Presidency members before election Bakir Izetbegović (Bosniak) Dragan Čović (Croat) Mladen Ivanić (Serb) Elected Presidency members Šefik Džaferović (Bosniak) Željko Komšić (Croat) Milorad Dodik (Serb)
House of Representatives
All 42 seats in the House of Representatives 22 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– SDA Bakir Izetbegović 17.01 9 −1 SNSD Milorad Dodik 16.03 6 0 SDS–NDP–NS–SRS Vukota Govedarica 9.80 3 −2 SDP BiH Nermin Nikšić 9.08 5 +2 HDZ–HSS–HSP–HKDU Dragan Čović 9.05 5 +1 DF–GS Željko Komšić 5.81 3 −2 PDP Branislav Borenović 5.06 2 +1 DNS Marko Pavić 4.18 1 0 SBB Fahrudin Radončić 4.16 2 −2 NS Predrag Kojović 2.92 2 +2 NB Senad Šepić 2.51 1 New PDA Mirsad Kukić 2.32 1 New SP Petar Đokić 1.89 1 +1 A-SDA Nermin Ogrešević 1.84 1 0 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Chairman before Chairman after Denis Zvizdić SDA Zoran Tegeltija SNSD

General elections were held in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 7 October 2018. They decided the makeup of the presidency as well as national, entity and cantonal governments. Voter turnout was 54%.

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 Šefik Džaferović and Croat Željko Komšić, while voters in Republika Srpska elected Serb Milorad Dodik.

The Party of Democratic Action (SDA) emerged as the largest party in the House of Representatives, winning 9 of the 42 seats. The Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) came in second with 6 seats, while the Social Democratic Party won 5 seats, up two from the previous general election in 2014; the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ BiH) also ended up with 5 seats. The Serb Democratic Party and the Democratic Front (DF) each won three seats. The election also saw a significant decline of the Union for a Better Future, going from 8.71% of the popular vote down to 4.16%, enough for two seats.

After a one year governmental formation crisis following the election, in December 2019, a coalition led by the SDA, the SNSD and the HDZ BiH, which also included the DF and the Democratic People's Alliance, formed a new government headed by the SNSD's Zoran Tegeltija.

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.^[1] Voters registered in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina can vote for either the Bosniak or Croat candidate, but cannot vote in both elections.

The 42 members of the House of Representatives are elected by open list proportional representation in two constituencies, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska.^[2] These two constituencies are subsequently divided in eight electoral units.

A total of 3,352,933 citizens were registered to vote; 2,092,336 in the Federation and 1,260,597 in Republika Srpska (citizens living in Brčko District voted in one of the entities). There were 77,814 persons registered to vote outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina, out of which 76,729 persons were registered to vote by mail and 1,085 were registered to vote at diplomatic missions.

Turnout at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina was 53.36%; the Federation 51.25%; Republika Srpska 57.30% and Brčko District 46.81%. The percentage was slightly lower as compared to 2014 that was 54.14%. The Bosnian Central Election Commission (CEC) reported that all 5,714 polling stations closed down in time or with slight delay. According to the initial assessment by the CEC, the elections passed in an overall calm and peaceful atmosphere.^{[citation needed]}

The elected members of the national Presidency were Šefik Džaferović (Bosniak, SDA), Željko Komšić (Croat, DF) and Milorad Dodik (Serb, SNSD). There was controversy over the election of the Croat member, as the non-nationalist candidate Željko Komšić (Democratic Front) 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 Mostar with signs "Not my president".^[3][4] In the days following election, several municipalities with Croat majority declared Komšić persona non grata.^[5][6]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Party of Democratic Action	281,731	17.01	9	–1
	Alliance of Independent Social Democrats	265,593	16.03	6	0
	SDS–NDP–NS–SRS	162,414	9.80	3	–2
	Social Democratic Party	150,454	9.08	5	2
	HDZ–HSS–HSP–HSP AS–HKDU	149,872	9.05	5	1
	Democratic Front–Civic Alliance	96,174	5.81	3	–2
	Party of Democratic Progress	83,832	5.06	2	1
	Democratic People's Alliance	69,289	4.18	1	0
	Union for a Better Future	68,993	4.16	2	–2
	Our Party	48,401	2.92	2	2
	Independent Bloc	41,512	2.51	1	New
	Movement of Democratic Action	38,417	2.32	1	New
	Socialist Party	31,321	1.89	1	1
	Party of Democratic Activity	30,482	1.84	1	0
	HDZ 1990–HSP	28,962	1.75	0	0
	People and Justice	23,381	1.41	0	New
	Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina	17,830	1.08	0	0
	Bosnian-Herzegovinian Patriotic Party	16,433	0.99	0	–1
	Independent Bosnian-Herzegovinian List	12,505	0.75	0	New
	Labour Party	7,734	0.47	0	0
	First Serb Democratic Party	7,513	0.45	0	New
	Pensioners' Party	7,185	0.43	0	New
	Bosnian Party	5,771	0.35	0	0
	Serb Progressive Party	4,750	0.29	0	0
	Union for New Politics	2,109	0.13	0	New
	Croatian Party BiH	1,095	0.07	0	New
	Liberal Democratic Party	1,833	0.11	0	New
	The Left Wing	930	0.06	0	New
Total		1,656,516	100.00	42	0
Valid votes		1,656,516	91.37
Invalid/blank votes		156,444	8.63
Total votes		1,812,960	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		3,355,429	54.03
Source: CEC

Following the results and Željko Komšić's election to the Presidency, largely due to votes in majority Bosniak areas, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who endorsed the incumbent Presidency member Dragan Čović, criticized Komšić's victory: "We are again in a situation where members of one constituent people ... are electing a representative of another, the Croat people".^[7] Komšić responded that the Croatian Government is undermining Bosnia and Herzegovina and its sovereignty.^[8]

• 2018 Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina general election
• 2018 Republika Srpska general election

• Hulsey, John; Keil, Soeren (27 April 2020). "Change amidst continuity? Assessing the 2018 regional elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina". Regional & Federal Studies. 30 (3): 343–361. doi:10.1080/13597566.2020.1754204. S2CID 219020743.

• Central Election Committee BiH