At stake in this election:

• The office of Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Chairman of the Presidency Sulejman TIHIC *
• Head of Government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Adnan TERZIC
• Assembly: Bosnia and Herzegovina has a bicameral Parliamentary Assembly (Skupstina) consisting of the House of Peoples (Dom Naroda) with 15 seats and the National House of Representatives (Predstavnicki Dom) with 42 seats.

* The Presidency consists of three members who rotate every eight months. Sulejman TIHIC (Bosniak) has been Chairman of the Presidency since 28 February 2006. The other members of the Presidency are Borislav PARAVAC (Serb) and Ivo Miro JOVIC (Croat). The three members of the Presidency (one Bosniak, one Croat, one Serb) are elected by popular vote to serve a 4-year term. The Chairmanship of the Presidency rotates every eight months among the three members.

Note: The Bosniak member of the presidency was Haris SALAJDZIC, the Croat member of the presidency was Zeljko KOMSIC, and the Serb member of the presidency was Nebojsa RADMANOVIC. 

Description of electoral system:

• The Chairman of the Presidency is elected by popular vote to serve a 4-year term.
• In the House of Peoples (Dom Naroda) 15 members are elected by indirect vote to serve 4-year terms*. In the National House of Representatives (Predstavnicki Dom) 42 members are elected by proportional representation to serve 4-year terms.**

* The seats are made up of 5 Bosniaks, 5 Croats, and 5 Serbs. Members are elected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly.

** 28 seats are allocated from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 14 seats from the Republika Srpska.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Sulejman TIHIC (Bosniak)
  • Party: Democratic Action Party / (SDA)
• Haris SILAJDZIC (Bosniak)
  • Party: Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina / (SBiH)
• Mirnes AJANOVIC (Bosniak)
  • Party: Bosnian Party / (BOSS)
• Ivo Miro JOVIC (Croat)
  • Party: Croatian Democratic Community of Bosnia-Herzegovina / (HDZ-BH)
• Zeljko KOMSIC(Croat)
  • Party: Social Democratic Party / (SDP)
• Bozo LJUBIC (Croat)
  • Party: Croat Democratic Community (HDZ) 1990
• Nebojsa RADMANOVIC (Serb)
  • Party: Alliance of Independent Social Democrats / (SNSD)
• Mladen BOSIC (Serb)
  • Party: Serb Democratic Party / (SDS)

Last Presidential election:

• Elections to the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina were last held on October 5, 2002. Mirko SAROVIC with 35.5% of the Serb vote was elected chairman of the collective Presidency for the first eight months. Dragan COVIC received 61.5% of the Croat vote and Sulejman TIHIC received 37% of the Bosniak vote.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 4,498,976 (July 2006 est.)
• Registered Voters: 2,736,886 (September 2006 Note: Of the 2.7 million voters, 1.7 millions are in the BiH Federation and 1 million in the Republic of Srpska.)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 1,926,514 (2006)

·         Is Bosnia and Herzegovina a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Bosnia and Herzegovina ratified CEDAW: Yes, succession (1 September 1993)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 6 (House of Representatives) (following 2006 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 85 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Bosnia and Herzegovina a signatory to CRPD: Yes (29 July 2009)

·         Has Bosnia and Herzegovina ratified CRPD: Yes (12 March 2010)

·         Population with a disability: 674,846 (est.)