DOMINANT ANGLE
Warsaw is taking away from this Bosnian election Milorad Dodik's statement crediting Donald Trump with his party's victory, more than the details of the vote results.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
According to the CIK's partial results, Zeljka Cvijanovic (SNSD) is leading for the Serbian seat of the presidency with 55.34% of the vote.
- 02
Milorad Dodik, who has been banned from public office for six years, says: "Ogłaszam zwycięstwo na wszystkich szczeblach" and cites Donald Trump's victory.
- 03
After 80% of polling stations have been counted, Denis Becirovic, Darijana Filipovic and Zeljka Cvijanovic are in the lead for the tripartite presidency; 3,408,517 voters were registered.
ANALYSIS
Warsaw, October 5, 2026. The Polish press is covering the general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, held on Sunday, October 4, from two angles: the figures from the Central Election Commission (CIK) and the statement by Milorad Dodik, the leader of the SNSD.
RMF24 headlines this statement: "Gdyby nie wspaniałe zwycięstwo prezydenta USA Donalda Trumpa..." ("Without the magnificent victory of US President Donald Trump..."). The media recalls that Bosnians were electing the three members of the collegiate presidency, representing Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs, the deputies of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly, those of the parliaments of the Federation and Republika Srpska, the president and vice-presidents of the RS, as well as the assemblies of the ten cantons of the Federation.
According to the partial results of the CIK cited by RMF24, the SNSD candidate Zeljka Cvijanovic is leading the race for the Serbian seat on the presidency with 55.34% of the vote. Her party is leading in the House of Representatives among the votes cast in Republika Srpska, with 40.95%, and obtained 38.93% in the elections to the National Assembly of the RS. Dodik states: "Ogłaszam zwycięstwo na wszystkich szczeblach" ("I proclaim victory at all levels").
RMF24 specifies that Dodik, former president of the RS and former member of the presidency, was not running for any position. He is subject to a six-year ban on holding public office, a consequence of a final conviction for not applying a decision of the High Representative, the body responsible for ensuring compliance with the Dayton peace agreement that ended the war in the 1990s. He attributes the success of his party in part to the political situation in the United States.
Gazeta Prawna, which headlines "decisive news from the Balkans", sticks to the data from Sunday evening. After counting 80% of the polling stations, according to the CIK, Denis Becirovic (SDP BiH), Darijana Filipovic (HDZ BiH), and Zeljka Cvijanovic (SNSD) are leading for the tripartite presidency. The polling stations closed at 7 pm and 3,408,517 people were registered.
The two articles stick to the results and Dodik's statement. They do not develop the European candidacy of Bosnia or the question of a possible secession of Republika Srpska.
