Bosnians went to the polls on Sunday to cast their votes in national elections after years of political turmoil and deep divisions among the country's constituent groups, with no solution in sight to address the decline in purchasing power.
Some 3.4 million voters in Bosnia and Herzegovina were called upon to elect officials within a complex power-sharing system between Bosniaks (Muslims), Croats (Catholics), and Serbs (Orthodox), a system established by the 1995 peace agreement.
The leading candidates presented contrasting visions. Bosniaks favored a strong central government, while Serbs clung to their autonomy, and Croats demanded greater political representation.
Sara Tosevlijak, 29, an environmental activist living in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, says she doesn't want to vote for either side, adding, "Things have never been worse."
"I know quite a few young people who have left Bosnia because they felt that their country, and the people in power, weren't offering them anything to stay," she told AFP.
According to the Confederation of Trade Unions, the average wage has risen from €570 to €885 since 2022. However, the cost of living has increased by more than 50%.
- A Test for Dodik -
In this divided country, one of the poorest in Europe, the elections represent a test for Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik.
Dodik has been in power in Republika Srpska since 2006. In 2025, he was removed from the presidency for failing to comply with the authority of the UN High Representative tasked with monitoring the implementation of the peace agreement.
Despite this, the 67-year-old Dodik still wields considerable influence in Republika Srpska thanks to the power of his party, the Union of Independent Social Democrats.
Dodik is known for his separatist views. On Friday, at his party's final campaign rally, he declared, "Bosnia and Herzegovina is dead. It is an impossible and meaningless state."
His party's candidate for the presidency of Republika Srpska, Savo Minić, faces competition from Branko Planoša, the candidate of the Serbian Democratic Party, a nationalist party but more moderate. Republika Srpska's accession to the European Union has been stalled by political crises and a lack of reforms.
Adnan Čerimagić, an analyst at the European Stability Initiative, believes there is "a real chance, for the first time, that someone who is not loyal to Dodik will become president of Republika Srpska." - Immigration -
Bosnia is divided into two autonomous entities with their own governments: Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (also known as the Federation of Croats and Bosniaks), which is further divided into ten cantons, each with its own government. A central government and a three-member presidency oversee the entire country.
Voters will cast their ballots between 5:00 AM and 5:00 PM GMT to elect more than 500 members of parliament and other officials, including the members of the presidency.
In contrast to the separatist rhetoric led by Dodik among Serbs, Bosnian politicians are campaigning on the banner of Bosnian unity and "victory over the separatists," such as Denis Pejčerović (Social Democratic Party), who is being challenged by the Bosnian nationalist politician Bakir Izetbegović (Party of Democratic Action).
However, these approaches no longer seem to convince many young people of their viability. Activist Adi Salman, 34, says, "These elections won't change anything because the options are limited to political parties that have been around for 30 years and garner votes by exploiting issues of war, tensions, and divisions."
For her part, sociologist Sarina Bakić, a professor at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Sarajevo, says, "Young people simply see leaving the country as the only way out (...) given the current climate in the country."
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