In the general elections on October 2nd, citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) will elect members of the Presidency of BiH, deputies in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH (PABiH), deputies in the parliaments of the two entities, Republika Srpska (RS) and the Federation of BiH(FBiH), and deputies in ten cantons in the FBiH. These are direct elections.
The president of the RS and his vice-presidents are elected in the same way.
All citizens in BiH over the age of 18 have the right to vote.
There are three constitutive nations living in BiH – Serbs, Bosniaks and Croats, while other nationalities are classified as ‘others’.
The official voter list does not mention the voter’s nationality. Each citizen’s right to vote depends on the part of BiH in which he lives.
How do you vote for members of the BiH Presidency?
In the RS entity, the Serbian member of the BiH Presidency is elected. Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs and ‘others’ who live in that entity vote for him.
Croat and Bosniak members of the Presidency of BiH are elected in the FBiH entity. Croats, Bosniaks, Serbs, and members of the ‘others’ cannot vote for both members of the Collective Head of State, but vote for either a Croat or a Bosniak.
How do you vote for deputies in the House of Representatives of the PABiH?
The House of Representatives of the PABiH consists of 42 deputies.
In the FBiH entity, Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs and members of the ‘others’ elect 28 deputies from the lists for constituencies in this entity.
In the RS entity, Serbs, Bosniaks, Croats and ‘others’ elect 14 deputies from the lists for constituencies in this entity.
How are deputies elected in the Assembly of the RS and the House of Representatives of the FBiH?
The National Assembly of the RS entity (NARS) has 83 deputies. They are elected by Serbs, Bosniaks, Croats and ‘others’ who are on the electoral list of RS.
The House of Representatives of the Parliament of the FBiHconsists of 98 deputies. They are elected by Bosniaks, Serbs, Croats and ‘others’ registered to vote in the FBiH.
How citizens vote in Brcko District?
Bosniaks, Serbs, Croats and ‘others’ in Brcko District of BiH, as the third administrative unit in BiH, can exercise the right to vote only if, in addition to citizenship of BiH, they opt for citizenship of one of the two entities.
Only citizens in the Brcko District of BiH have entity citizenship entered in their identity cards.
If they have the citizenship of the FBiH entity in their identity cards, they vote for a Bosniak or Croat member of the Presidency of BiH, as well as for deputies in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the FBiH from the list for that entity.
If they have the citizenship of RS in their identity cards, they can vote for the Serbian member of the BiH Presidency, deputies in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament, the president and vice president of the RS, and deputies in the Assembly of the RS, Radio Slobodna Evropa reports.
E.Dz.
