2026 General Elections – Basic Information
Sarajevo, 2 October 2026 – The General Elections will be held in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Sunday, 4 October 2026.
Tomorrow, 3 October 2026, at 07:00, the election silence period will begin and will last until the closing of polling stations, i.e. until Sunday, 4 October 2026, at 19:00.
During this period, political subjects are prohibited from participating in public political activities, and media reporting on any activity related to the political and election campaign is also prohibited.
In addition, the ban on publishing the results of public opinion polls related to voting and elections came into effect today at 07:00.
On Sunday, 4 October, polling stations will be open from 07:00 to 19:00.
Voters may exercise their right to vote at a polling station only upon presentation of one of the valid identification documents (identity card, driving licence or passport). The secrecy of the vote is guaranteed.
Elections are being held for the following levels of government:
- Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
- House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
- House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
- President and Vice-Presidents of Republika Srpska,
- National Assembly of Republika Srpska, and
- Cantonal Assemblies in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
A total of 518 office holders will be elected from among 7,028 certified candidates.
The total number of voters in Bosnia and Herzegovina registered in the Central Voters’ Register for the 2026 General Elections, as of 20 August 2026 at 24:00, is 3,408,517.
A total of 48,078 voters are registered to vote outside Bosnia and Herzegovina, of whom 45,457 voters will vote by mail and 2,621 voters at diplomatic-consular missions.
A total of 5,569 polling stations have been established in Bosnia and Herzegovina (some polling stations are assigned to other polling stations), including 5,121 regular polling stations and 385 mobile teams.
Voting will also take place at 20 diplomatic-consular missions of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 13 countries.
In accordance with the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Central Election Commission of BiH adopted the Decision on establishing the fulfilment of technical requirements for the application of specific election technologies in the election process for the 2026 General Elections, establishing that the necessary technical requirements for the application of specific election technologies in the election process for the 2026 General Elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been fulfilled.
These are the first elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina to be conducted using biometric voter identification and ballot scanners, as well as rapid transmission of election results.
The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina once again calls on voters to inform themselves about the location of their polling station, candidates and voting procedures.
Certified candidate lists and video instructions on voting (for the Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska and Brčko District), as well as educational materials for election administration, are available on the homepage of www.izbori.ba.
As regards accredited election observers, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina has so far accredited 2,432 observers, including 1,557 representatives of citizen associations, 756 international election observers and 119 election observers representing political parties. According to the information collected so far, municipal/city election commissions have accredited approximately 25,000 observers representing political subjects.
It is estimated that there will be approximately 30,000 observers in total.
The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina calls on all participants in the election process in Bosnia and Herzegovina to conduct the elections on Sunday, 4 October in a fair and peaceful atmosphere.