Mayors of municipalities and cities

Conditions and constraints

• East Sarajevo is not an exception with an indirectly elected mayor: in the CEC's confirmed 2024 municipal/city mayor race, electoral unit 195, Ljubiša Ćosić has 24,327 votes (67.12%) and the mandate-awarded flag. Indirect election of a city assembly does not mean the mayor is also indirectly elected.

  • CIK BiH — Lokalni izbori 2024, utrka 8, izborna jedinica ISTOČNO SARAJEVO (195)
  • CIK BiH — potvrđeni rezultati 2024 za gradonačelnika Istočnog Sarajeva

• Sarajevo: a candidate must be a BiH citizen entitled to vote in the City, but need not be a city councillor. If no candidate obtains the required majority, a second round is held between the two leading candidates; all candidates tied for the highest number of votes enter that round. If no mayor is elected, the second round is repeated, followed by a restart of the entire procedure. A vacant office must be filled by electing a new mayor within 30 days.

  • Statut Grada Sarajeva — član 43(1), (5)–(9) i (11) · p. 14

• Sarajevo: the mayor and the two deputy mayors may not belong to the same people or to the Others category, nor may both deputies share that affiliation. Selection of the deputies must include one person of the underrepresented sex. Consideration of dismissal requires support from a majority of all councillors, and a dismissal decision at a special session requires a two-thirds majority of all councillors.

  • Statut Grada Sarajeva — članovi 43(10) i 44(1)–(3) · p. 14

• Mostar: only an elected city councillor may become mayor, and the winner resigns their council seat. The two candidates with the most votes enter the second round; if a tie prevents identifying those two, a separate round is held among the tied candidates. If the second round also fails to produce a two-thirds majority, a third follows; a tie in the third round is decided in favour of the younger candidate. The elected candidate immediately declares whether they accept election; refusal triggers a repeat election.

  • Statut Grada Mostara — članovi 44 i 47

• Mostar: the City Council president and the mayor may not belong to the same constituent people; if they do, the Council president resigns and a new president is elected. A motion to dismiss the mayor requires support from more than half of elected councillors, and dismissal at a special session requires two-thirds of elected councillors.

  • Statut Grada Mostara — članovi 26(6) i 45

• FBiH municipal mayors: recall may be initiated by at least one-third of councillors or 10% of registered voters. The council decides by a majority of all its members; after accepting the initiative it adopts the decision initiating the procedure within 30 days. Recall requires a majority of citizens voting in a direct secret vote. The procedure may not take place in the 100 days after the mayor's election or in a regular local-election year. Until a new election, the office is held by a person elected by a majority of all council members.

  • Zakon o izboru, prestanku mandata, opozivu i zamjeni načelnika općina u FBiH — članovi 6, 7 i 11

• RS: recall of a municipal mayor may be initiated by one-third of councillors or 10% of voters registered in the municipality; the initiative must state its reasons. The assembly decides by a majority of all councillors. Citizens decide by direct secret vote; the mandate ends if a majority of participating voters support recall. If recall fails, the procedure cannot be repeated for one year.

  • Izborni zakon RS — član 45, zamijenjen članom 16 Zakona o izmjenama i dopunama (Službeni glasnik RS 24/12) · p. 6

• Early elections do not start a new full term: the mandate lasts until the current regular-election term expires. Article 14.3 of the BiH Election Law requires elections within 90 days of termination and 30–90 days between the call and polling day. Article 8 of the special FBiH municipal-mayor law states a 60-day deadline, which differs from the general state deadline. RS Article 46 states 90 days. New elections for a directly elected municipal or city mayor are funded by that municipality's or city's budget.

  • Izborni zakon BiH — članovi 1.2c i 14.3(1)–(6)
  • Zakon o izboru, prestanku mandata, opozivu i zamjeni načelnika općina u FBiH — članovi 4 i 8–9
  • Izborni zakon RS — član 46, zamijenjen članom 18 Zakona o izmjenama i dopunama (Službeni glasnik RS 24/12) · p. 7