Overview
- Six contenders are on the ballot, with Dodik ally Sinisa Karan of the SNSD and opposition candidate Branko Blanusa of the SDS identified as the frontrunners.
- The race is framed as a choice between continuing a nationalist, separatist course or shifting toward policies that protect Bosnia and Herzegovina’s fragile cohesion.
- More than 1.2 million people were eligible to vote, with preliminary results expected after polls closed at 18:00 GMT.
- The presidency’s powers are largely ceremonial in law, although Dodik had concentrated de facto executive control during his tenure.
- The winner will serve for less than a year because a general election is scheduled for next October.