Basic Information – Repeat Early Elections for the President of Republika Srpska to be held on 08 February 2026
Sarajevo, 04 February 2026 – On 31 December 2025, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the Decision on calling and holding the repeat early elections for the President of Republika Srpska at 136 polling stations in 17 constituencies, which will be held on Sunday, 08 February 2026.
Polling stations will open at 07:00 and close at 19:00.
The repeat early elections shall be conducted on the basis of the same candidate lists and the same excerpts from the Central Voters Register that were used in the annulled elections.
A total of 84,474 voters have the right to vote in the repeat early elections for the President of Republika Srpska.
The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina has ordered the election commissions of the basic constituencies in which the elections are being repeated to inform voters, in an appropriate manner, of the polling stations at which the repeat early elections are being held.
The ban on publishing the results of public opinion polls begins 48 hours before the opening of polling stations and lasts until the closing of polling stations, i.e. in the period from Friday, 06 February 2026 at 07:00 until Sunday, 08 February 2026, until the closing of polling stations.
Election silence begins 24 hours before the opening of polling stations and lasts until the closing of polling stations, i.e. in the period from Saturday, 07 February 2026 at 07:00 until Sunday, 08 February 2026, until the closing of polling stations.
It has been estimated that the costs of holding the repeat early elections for the President of Republika Srpska will amount to BAM 600,000.
All observers accredited by the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina and by municipal/city election commissions for the early elections for the President of Republika Srpska have the right to observe the repeat early elections, i.e. a total of 4,894 observers have the right to observe the repeat early elections for the President of Republika Srpska. The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina considers that the stated number of accredited observers for the upcoming repeat early elections is fully credible to contribute to safeguarding the credibility and integrity of the electoral process, provided that the accredited observers perform their duties responsibly.
Observers are obliged, at the polling station, to present to the authorized member of the polling station committee the Decision on Accreditation as well as the accreditation issued by the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina or the competent election commission, and a personal identification document.
We would particularly like to remind that Article 17.2 of the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina, inter alia, prescribes that only one representative of accredited subjects may be present at a polling station, however, this limitation does not apply to international observers.
Given the large number of accredited observers who may observe the repeat early elections, we hereby call upon political subjects to organize their observers in such a way that only one representative of an accredited political subject may be present at a polling station, i.e. that a larger number of observers of the same political subject do not come to a polling station at the same time, which could disrupt the electoral process.
An accredited observer is, inter alia, obliged:
- to be impartial in the performance of their duties,
- not to disrupt the electoral process and to respect the secrecy of the ballot,
- not to exert any influence on voters during voting,
- to respect the provisions of the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
An accredited observer may be removed from a polling station during the observation of the electoral process if they:
- disrupt electoral activities,
- fail to respect the secrecy of the ballot,
- do not display official accreditation
- wear symbols that associate them with a particular political subject.
The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina recommends that accredited observers also use, in their work, the 2024 manual available at the following link: