Bosnia after the vote: Key victories reshape political landscape as rivals concede defeat

Denis Becirovic (SDP) declared victory in the race for the Bosniak seat in Bosnia’s tripartite Presidency, while Darijana Filipovic (HDZ BiH) won the Croat seat and Zeljka Cvijanovic the seat of the Serb Presidency member. According to preliminary results from the Central Election Commission (CEC), Savo Minic (SNSD) won the race for president of Republika Srpska, one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s two entities.

Becirovic: Bosnia must continue on its EU path

Becirovic, the candidate of the United for the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina coalition, thanked voters for their support but said he would not celebrate, citing the difficult living conditions faced by many people across the country.

“Nine months ago, they were calling on me to withdraw, to give up. Nine months later, I want to say: I did not give up, I won,” Becirovic said.

He called for political restraint following the election and said Bosnia and Herzegovina must continue its path towards EU membership and promote regional cooperation.

“The future of our region is not in adopting the Russian model, but the European one,” he said.

Filipovic calls for a different approach in the Presidency

Filipovic, who won the race for the Croat seat in the Presidency, said she wanted the institution to move away from ethnic political divisions and demonstrate that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s state institutions could function differently.

“The Croat people have elected their representative to the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or more precisely, their female representative,” Filipovic said.

She said she wanted the Presidency’s decisions over the next four years to be based on mutual respect rather than disputes over voting blocs.

Filipovic also said she would represent Croats who did not vote for her and stressed that political differences should not become a source of division.

“We are different and we should not be ashamed of that, but we are equally valuable and Bosnia and Herzegovina is equally our homeland,” she said.

She thanked HDZ BiH leader Dragan Covic and the party leadership, as well as Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Croatia’s HDZ, for their support during the campaign.

“This victory matters. Peace matters, equality matters,” Filipovic said.

Covic hails HDZ’s result

HDZ BiH leader Dragan Covic described the result as confirmation of the party’s four-year political strategy and said it was time for a generational shift within HDZ BiH.

He said electoral legislation would be among the issues requiring attention in the coming period and announced talks with political partners on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s future and the constitutional equality of Croats.

Covic also congratulated the winners in the Bosniak and Serb political blocs.

Minic wins Republika Srpska presidency

SNSD leader Milorad Dodik declared a major victory for his party, saying it had won both the race for the Serb seat in Bosnia’s Presidency and the presidency of Republika Srpska.

According to preliminary CEC results cited in the material, Savo Minic won the race for Republika Srpska president.

Minic said he regarded the office as a responsibility rather than a benefit and pledged to represent all citizens of the entity.

“I want to be the president of all citizens of Republika Srpska, those who voted and those who did not, regardless of their religion or nationality,” he said.

He also said SNSD would move quickly to form a new government once the election results became official.

SDP says its support increased

SDP BiH leader Nermin Niksic said preliminary figures indicated that his party had improved its percentage share of the vote and expected to increase its representation in the Federation parliament.

He also said the Troika alliance should remain together if the final election result allowed it.

“We believe that the Troika, as a project, deserves to remain together,” Niksic said, adding that negotiations on parliamentary majorities and future governments would follow.

Izetbegovic concedes defeat to Becirovic

SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic acknowledged that he had failed to win the Presidency race, while arguing that his party itself had performed strongly.

“I, unfortunately, did not succeed in the fight against the 14 of them,” he said, referring to the parties supporting Becirovic.

Izetbegovic congratulated Becirovic and said SDA would analyse why his personal result was weaker than the party’s.

“What happens to me is unimportant. What matters is that SDA won,” he said.

Blanusa congratulates Minic

Branko Blanusa conceded the race for president of Republika Srpska, saying the remaining vote count was unlikely to change the outcome.

He congratulated Minic and said the opposition would have to analyse its performance, including the level of support his candidacy received from opposition parties across the entity.

“I think it is largely clear that Mr Savo Minic is the new president of Republika Srpska,” Blanusa said.

Komsic: The results are very poor

Democratic Front leader Zeljko Komsic gave one of the clearest assessments of defeat, describing his party’s results as “very poor”.

He said DF had failed with its candidate for the Presidency and had suffered losses at both state and Federation levels.

“The people have said what they want. We congratulate all the winners. The contest was democratic and it is up to us to accept that in a sporting manner,” Komsic said.

He said he would not immediately announce any decision about his own political future.