Bosnia enters election silence ahead of Sunday vote as US and Russia jostle for influence

Bosnia and Herzegovina entered an election silence at 7am on Saturday, banning all campaigning and campaign reporting ahead of Sunday’s general elections — a vote that could shape the country’s European Union bid and the influence the United States and Russia hold over the small Balkan nation.

The silence period, announced by the Central Election Commission of BiH, runs until polling stations close at 7pm on Sunday, 4 October. During it, political parties may not campaign publicly and media may not report on election-related activity.

A total of 518 officials will be elected from among 7,028 certified candidates, in races for the country’s tripartite presidency, the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly, the Federation parliament, the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, the RS president and vice-presidents, and ten cantonal assemblies.

Some 3,408,517 voters are registered, including 48,078 abroad — 45,457 voting by mail and 2,621 at diplomatic missions. The commission set up 5,569 polling stations, plus 385 mobile teams.

These are the first Bosnian elections conducted with biometric voter identification, ballot scanners and rapid transmission of results.

The vote lands amid a political crisis threatening to split the country of 3 million, voter frustration over an economic slowdown and stalled EU entry talks. “Voters care more about issues that stretch beyond the ethnic divide, things like corruption, slow EU accession,” Mario Bikarski, senior Europe analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, told Reuters.

Sources: Central Election Commission of BiH, via European Western Balkans | Reuters, 1 October 2026