The fourth year of the mandate, 189 sessions and unfulfilled promises. While politicians are competing for seats, the obligations of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina are hardly discussed. Salaries of around six thousand marks, along with numerous benefits, are clearly a strong tacit sign that the pre-election fight will begin months in advance.
At the beginning of 2026, ten months before the General Elections, it is clear that the current BiH Presidency rarely acts as a single entity. In the three years of the mandate, 27 regular and 162 extraordinary sessions were held, while a number of political promises remained unfulfilled. Instead of an opportunity for results, the months before the elections look more and more like the beginning of the campaign, there is more talk about names and less about programs.
Without the official confirmation of Denis Bećirović, messages are coming from the Troika that he will again be a candidate for the Presidency of BiH.
“As far as I’ve seen, Fuad Kasumović’s political party has already supported it, and the messages coming from People and Justice and from Our Party are actually support for Denis Bećirović, and I think he will ultimately be our candidate,” says Belmin Zukan from SDP.
The decision of the Main Board is awaited, while the SDA will also decide on the candidacy. The public is, however, speculating that Bakir Izetbegović could be against Bećirović again, but Sebija Izetbegović is also mentioned. The People’s Power will also decide on Rama Isak’s candidacy, while the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina has already confirmed Semir Efendić, who was with Bećirović last time, and now the action of the Troika is the key reason for his own candidate.
“If Denis Bećirović remains a member of the Presidency even after 2026 and is re-elected, then the parties of the Troika will remain in power at the state level. It is common knowledge that we have an attitude as the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina towards the work and political activities of the parties of the Troika at the state level, and this is unacceptable for us,” points out Džemal Smajić from the Party for BiH.
The election for a member of the BiH Presidency will, by all accounts, be more uncertain than in 2022. The powers of this institution are clearly prescribed by the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the rules of procedure, from conducting foreign policy to appointing the mandate of the Council of Ministers, so this race is considered crucial for the future formation of the government.
“Those three members of the Presidency, I remind you, appoint the mandate holder, that is, the chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the continuation of the constitution of the state power will actually depend on that,” believes Dženan Đonlagić from DF.
The Democratic Front has already presented a candidate for the Presidency from among the Croatian people – Slaven Kovačević. In HDZ BiH, there are sharp reactions, with the message that this is an unconstitutional policy, while the name of their candidate has not yet been confirmed.
“It is a policy that violently tries to change the constitution of the state, the Constitution, and at the same time abuses everything that can be abused. The HDZ has not agreed yet”, emphasizes Zdenko Ćosić from the HDZ BiH.
In that party, the state representative, Darjana Filipović, as well as the chairman of the Council of Ministers, Borjana Krišto, are mentioned as possible names in the public, while the candidate of the so-called of the Croatian five is not yet known, but it is speculated that he could be non-partisan.
The name has not yet been made official by the SNSD, and the opposition mentions Nebojša Vukanović as a potential candidate for a member of the BiH Presidency, with the possibility of an agreement with other parties, due to the candidacy for the entity’s president, where Blanuša and Stanivuković are mentioned.
“They currently have the greatest trust among the people. In all these previous years, when we made some other calculations depending on who has the largest membership or who is the oldest party, we actually made a mistake in the elections. Of course, we need to talk to other opposition parties,” says Zagorka Grahovac from the List for Justice and Order.
Candidates are discussed months in advance, while the duties of the Presidency are discussed much more quietly. A total of 189 sessions were held in the three years of the mandate, without a mechanism of political responsibility for unfulfilled promises. At the same time, the members of the Presidency, with the highest coefficient and base growth, receive about six thousand marks per month, with paid travel, hotels and per diems. And that is why it is not surprising that the fight for this position has already begun, he writes N1 BiH.
