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Bosnia and Herzegovina: Dayton agreement and political system

The 1995 Dayton Agreement, formally the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, brought an end to the war in that part of the former Yugoslavia. Under the framework, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is a single state which consists of two principal political entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), principally comprising the Bosniak (Muslim)- and Croat-majority areas, and Republika Srpska (RS), principally comprising the Serb-majority area.

BiH has a collective presidency, with one member elected from each of three principal ethnic groups (Bosniak, Croat and Serb). FBiH and RS have their own constitutions, parliaments and other institutional arrangements providing for representation of the different ethnic groups. Their constitutions and political arrangements need to be compatible with the BiH constitution established under the Dayton Agreement.

The Dayton Agreement established an international High Representative with responsibility for oversight of civilian implementation of the peace settlement. The High Representative has powers to remove public officials from office and impose laws on BiH as necessary to safeguard the peace agreement. These powers are controversial and have been disputed in recent years by the RS leadership. This led to the President of RS, Milorad Dodik, being convicted on charges of failing to execute the decisions of the High Representative and being removed from office in 2025. 

General elections in BiH are held every four years, covering elections to the BiH collective presidency, the BiH, FBiH and RS parliaments and the RS presidency. The last general election took place in October 2022, with the next one due in October 2026.