Bosnien und Herzegowina

US and European officials failed to agree by Thursday on a top international envoy for keeping the peace in Bosnia after two days of meetings, outgoing high representative Christian Schmidt confirmed.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is moving along “a narrowing path” that could lead either towards institutional sustainability and economic revitalization, or stagnation and deconstruction of State institutions, the Security Council heard today from the High Representative of the international community in that country. Today’s briefing by Christian Schmidt, who occupies that Office, is taking place mere days after he announced his resignation.  

Central Election Commission schedules elections at several levels for October 4, while preparing to introduce new biometric voter identification and ballot-scanning technology.

[…] She [NATO’s Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska] underscored NATO’s readiness to strengthen the cooperation, building on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s first Individually Tailored Partnership Programme adopted last year, the optimised implementation of the country’s Reform Programme, and NATO’s enhanced support through its Defence Capacity Building Programme.

Sinisa Karan last week took the oath in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, Bosnia’s Serb-led entity, formally assuming the duties of president. However, the question is not who the new president of Republika Srpska is, but whether he can make decisions independently – or whether his predecessor, Milorad Dodik, still makes the decisions, despite being formally removed from power.

Sinisa Karan, ally of the ousted strongman Milorad Dodik, took victory after repeat voting for the president of Bosnia's Serb-run Republika Srpska entity over opposition candidate Branko Blanusa.

The holiday honours the day in 1992 when Bosnian Serb leaders declared the foundation of Republika Srpska. However, many also remember this date as the start of the 1992-95 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which cost an estimated 100,000 lives and left some 2.6 million people displaced. The country's highest court has twice ruled the holiday unconstitutional.

Bosnian Serb politician Sinisa Karan, the candidate backed by dismissed president Milorad Dodik, won Sunday’s snap election with 50.89% of the vote, preliminary results showed. His main rival, Branko Blanusa, secured 47.81%, the central electoral commission said, based on nearly 93% of polling stations counted.

While candidates could campaign freely ahead of yesterday’s early election of the president of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the undue advantages enjoyed by the ruling party combined with the removal of public campaign funding created an uneven playing field, international observers said in a statement today.

[…] The OSCE Annual Cybersecurity Forum 2025 brought together more than 100 policymakers, institutional leaders, regulators, academics, private sector representatives, and young professionals. They explored how the country can build greater cyber resilience and close existing gaps, including the absence of a state-level cybersecurity strategy, dedicated legislation, and a national Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), while emphasizing the importance of co-ordination and knowledge-sharing across sectors.