Bosnia and Herzegovina's 23 November early election for president of Republika Srpska saw limited public engagement and an uneven playing field due to the combined impact of the misuse of public resources, the advantage of incumbency and the abolition of public funding.
The election administration carried out its duties professionally despite considerable challenges that further strained its limited operational capacity. Limited coverage by private media, lack of debates and disproportionate coverage of the ruling party candidate on the Republika Srpska public broadcaster negatively affected voters' ability to make an informed choice.
These are some of the main conclusions from the final report on the 23 November early election of the president of Republika Srpska published by ODIHR. The report also offers recommendations to bring elections closer in line with OSCE commitments and international standards for democratic elections.
Key recommendations include:
- Reviewing election-related laws and regulations to address all ODIHR recommendations through an inclusive consultation process;
- Ensuring adequate funding, staffing, and operational support for the election administration at all times, including between elections;
- Increasing transparency of the voter register by publishing preliminary voter lists online by polling station before each election, while protecting voters' personal data;
- Amending the law to regulate online campaigning and paid political advertising, while providing authorities with sufficient resources to monitor compliance and apply effective sanctions;
- Strengthening the Central Election Commission's capacity to oversee and audit campaign finance;
- Ensuring fair and balanced coverage of all candidates by public broadcasters in news and editorial programmes, including on websites and social media; and
- Introducing clear and consistent legal rules for recounts and control counts to ensure integrity in election results tabulation.
ODIHR deployed the special election assessment mission for the election from 27 October to 28 November 2025.
All 57 OSCE participating States have formally committed to following up promptly on ODIHR's election assessments and recommendations. The ODIHR's electoral recommendations database tracks the implementation of previous recommendations across the OSCE region.
