Repeat elections for the President of Republika Srpska on Sunday at 136 polling stations, 84,474 voters have the right to vote

(Patria) - The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted on December 31, 2025, a Decision on calling and holding repeat early elections for the President of Republika Srpska at 136 polling stations in 17 electoral units, which will be held on Sunday, February 8, 2026.

Polling stations will be open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

The repeat elections are conducted based on the same candidate lists and the same extracts from the Central Voters' Register that were used in the annulled elections. A total of 84,474 voters have the right to vote in the repeat early elections for the President of Republika Srpska.

The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina has ordered the election commissions of the basic electoral units where the elections are being repeated to inform voters in a suitable manner about the polling stations where the repeat elections are being held.
The ban on publishing public opinion poll results begins 48 hours before the opening of polling stations and lasts until the closing of polling stations, i.e., from Friday, February 6, 2026, at 7:00 AM until Sunday, February 8, 2026, until the closing of polling stations.

Election silence begins 24 hours before the opening of polling stations and lasts until the closing of polling stations, i.e., from Saturday, February 7, 2026, at 7:00 AM until Sunday, February 8, 2026, until the closing of polling stations.

It is estimated that the costs of holding the repeat early elections for the President of Republika Srpska will amount to 600,000 BAM.

All observers accredited by the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina and municipal/city election commissions for the early elections for the President of Republika Srpska have the right to observe the repeat early elections, i.e., a total of 4,894 observers have the right to observe the repeat early elections for the President of Republika Srpska. The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina considers the aforementioned number of accredited observers for the upcoming repeat elections to be entirely credible to contribute to protecting the credibility and integrity of the electoral process, provided that the accredited observers responsibly perform their duties.

Observers are required to show the Decision on accreditation and the accreditation issued by the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina or the competent election commission, as well as a personal identification document, to the authorized member of the polling board at the polling station.

We particularly remind that Article 17.2 of the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina, among other things, stipulates that only one representative of accredited entities may be present at a polling station, provided that this restriction does not apply to international observers.

Given the large number of accredited observers who can observe the repeat elections, we hereby call on political entities to organize their observers in such a way that only one representative of an accredited political entity may be present at a polling station, i.e., that a larger number of observers from the same political entity do not come to the polling station simultaneously, which could disrupt the electoral process.

An accredited observer is, among other things, obliged:

- To be impartial in performing their duties,
- Not to disrupt the electoral process and to respect the secrecy of the vote,
- Not to exert any influence on voters during voting,
- To comply with the provisions of the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

An accredited observer may be removed from the polling station during the observation of the electoral process if they:

- Disrupt electoral activities,
- Do not respect the secrecy of the vote,
- Do not wear official accreditation,
- Wear insignia linking them to a specific political entity.