Bosnia election: New steps to prevent electoral fraud, but nationalist parties remain on top

Bosnia and Herzegovina voted on October 4 using new identification measures intended to stop long-running manipulation of ballots. Officials hoped the system would address irregularities tied to outdated voter lists.

In previous contests, critics alleged ballots were submitted for people who had died or moved away, that some individuals voted more than once, and that empty slips were counted after closing to inflate participation. With those avenues narrowed, participation was just over 40%, the weakest level recorded since the conflict ended in 1995.

The change this year was fingerprint verification at all voting locations. The measure made it substantially more difficult to misrepresent a voter's identity, marking progress on election integrity.

That structure reflects the settlement that stopped the fighting in 1995. The Dayton Peace Agreement divided the state into Republika Srpska, with a Serb majority, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a Bosniak-Croat majority, under a three-person presidency in which each group chooses its own representative.