"The Central Election Commission's efforts to investigate cases of voter impersonation and breaches of integrity in the counting procedures last November, as well as its decision to repeat elections and replace all electoral staff in affected polling stations was a positive step towards more electoral integrity. We found however that such irregularities were facilitated by an outdated register of voters. We therefore reaffirm the Congress' long-standing recommendation to ensure the accuracy of voters list. In light of the 2026 general elections, these efforts should now be treated as a key priority.
"Although improvements were made to the procedure to appoint presidents and vice presidents of polling stations, the politicisation of electoral boards also remained problematic and should be addressed to ensure their independence and further prevent irregularities.
"Furthermore, the repeat elections were held under a period of electoral silence, as foreseen by the law, which was mostly respected by the candidates. The pre-election period was however marred by a regrettable number of allegations of vote buying and misuse of local public resources in favour of the ruling party in the three main municipalities where voting took place. The presence of numerous groups outside the polling stations reinforced our delegation's concerns of coordinated actions.
"Ultimately, political parties bear a crucial responsibility to reinforce electoral integrity, safeguard democratic processes and put an end to any attempt at electoral malpractice. The citizens of Republika Srpska deserve to have confidence in their institutions and their needs genuinely reflected in free and fair electoral processes."
These were preliminary findings of an eight-member election observation delegation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, led by Karin Thomasson (Sweden, SOC/G/PD), which concluded yesterday its mission to observe the repeat early elections for the presidency of Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina) on Sunday 8 February 2026. This mission was held following the decision of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to repeat the early elections held on 23 November 2025 (also observed by the Congress) in 136 polling stations due to irregularities.
Prior to the on-site mission, the delegation held meetings on 6 and 7 February with the Central Election Commission, NGOs and representatives of the international community. It also held discussions with political parties and candidates running in the repeat elections.
On election day, four Congress teams visited more than 45 polling stations from opening to closing and counting. Overall, the delegation observed a calm and well-organised election day despite the short timeframe to organise the repeat elections. At the same time, the teams regretted the constant and intimidating presence of groups of men in the vicinity of a number of polling stations and some persistent irregularities, related to family and assisted voting, predominantly in rural areas. Some inconsistencies were noted, on the sealing of ballot boxes, accessibility of polling stations and rushed opening or counting procedures, underlining the need for additional training.
In addition, the requirement for all observers, international, domestic and party representatives, to rely solely on observers accredited for the November elections, resulted in fewer observers deployed and limited opportunities for meaningful observation in all locations.
In the course of the meetings, the delegation was also informed of renewed initiatives to integrate new technologies to improve integrity of the vote. Provided the CEC has the necessary time to implement these changes, the Congress observers found that some initiatives could prove beneficial. Such efforts should be guided by the spirit of the Committee of Ministers Guidelines on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in electoral processes.
Further to the Congress mission, a draft recommendation on the overall mission will be discussed at the Congress session in October 2026 in Strasbourg (France).
In November, the Congress delegation found that the elections were generally well-organised, despite some irregularities. However, it noted that the campaign was marked by an uneven playing field, polarisation and inflammatory rhetoric, failing to address real issues facing citizens.
Congress press release on the early elections in Republika Srpska (November 2025)
Joint press release with the OSCE/ODIHR (November 2025)
