Bosnians voted on Sunday, October 4, in elections that could shape the country’s EU membership bid. About 3.4 million voters were eligible.

Voters chose the three members of the multi-ethnic presidency and the national parliament. The presidency has one Bosniak, one Croat and one Serb member.

Some polling stations closed briefly over electronic voting glitches. New biometric voter ID and scanners were introduced to curb fraud.

Turnout was 28.8 percent by 3 pm, down 8.12 percentage points from 2022. Voter frustration has grown over a slowing economy and stalled EU talks.

Early results showed Denis Becirovic leading the Bosniak race by under three points over Bakir Izetbegovic. Darijana Filipovic held a commanding lead for the Croat seat. Zeljka Cvijanovic led the Serb race with 55.34 percent.

Bosnia won EU candidate status in December 2022. Accession talks have not started because reforms on courts and corruption are pending.

Separatist leader Milorad Dodik declared victory for his camp. He has openly defied Sarajevo and pushed for Serb separation.