(AGENPARL) – Mon 24 November 2025 Image
PRESS RELEASE
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
Ref. CG089(2025)
Early elections for the president of Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina: orderly elections but politics fail to deliver future for the youth
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe is the political assembly representing local and regional governments across the 46 member States, responsible for promoting and monitoring local democracy.
The deployment on election day was preceded by meetings on 21 and 22 November 2025 in Sarajevo and Banja Luka with a wide range of key stakeholders, including the election administration, the Office of the High Representative in Banja Luka, the media, civil society organisations, and candidates and representatives of various political parties. A briefing with the OSCE/ODHIR Election Observation Mission Core Team was organised together with the delegation from the European Parliament. On election day, eight Congress teams were deployed to different areas across Republika Srpska and the Brčko district.
“Politics fail to deliver future for the youth”, Bernd Vöhringer (Germany, EPP/CCE) said at the joint press conference with OSCE/ODHIR and the European Parliament on 24 November 2025. “We welcome a generally well-organised election, despite some irregularities. Particularly the authorities should work on the secrecy of vote and accessibility for all. However, we regret that the campaign was marked by polarisation and inflammatory rhetoric and did not address the real issues facing the people. The lack of clear political programmes, an uneven level playing field, notably on public campaign financing, and a muted campaign contributed to disillusionment and led to a low turnout, especially among young people. Every election should connect with all citizens, focusing on their needs and aspiration, not on deepening divisions”.
“We welcome the fact that the early elections, despite initial uncertainty, eventually took place in line with the legal framework and we commend the ability of the under-resourced CEC to work independently under tight timelines. However, we urge the authorities to address some long-standing Congress recommendations notably on sanctioning the misuse of public resources and on the state of the media in Republika Srpska. Some procedural inconsistencies, including on the sealing of ballot boxes, also highlighted the need for more comprehensive training”, stated Jimmy Moloney (Ireland, ILDG), Deputy-head of delegation.
The Congress draft report and recommendation will be submitted for adoption at the 50th^ Congress session in March 2026.
Composed of two chambers – the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions – and three committees, the Congress brings together 612 elected officials representing more than 130 000 local and regional authorities.
President of the Congress: Marc Cools (Belgium, ILDG), President of the Chamber of Local Authorities: Bernd Vöhringer (Germany, EPP/CCE), President of the Chamber of Regions: Cecilia Dalman Eek (Sweden, SOC/G/PD).
Political groups: Group of Socialists, Greens and Progressive Democrats (SOC/G/PD), Group of the European Peoples Party (EPP/CCE), Independent Liberal and Democratic Group (ILDG), European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR).
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