Hate Speech and Ethnic Division Left Unpunished in Bosnian Elections

Political candidates in Bosnia and Herzegovina used rhetoric that deepened ethnic divisions during the recent election campaign. Many of these statements violated the national election law. However, authorities left almost all of them unpunished. Investigative outlet Detektor documented nearly thirty cases of hate speech. These statements targeted ethnic and religious groups as well as political rivals. Around half of the recorded incidents came from the ruling coalition in Republika Srpska.

Former Republika Srpska president Milorad Dodik repeatedly told crowds that Serbs in East Sarajevo were under threat. He warned that Bosniaks were buying apartments and settling there. Dodik claimed that East Sarajevo is exclusively Serb land. Damjan Ožegović from Transparency International said Dodik plays with voter emotions. He noted that Dodik uses fear instead of offering real solutions for everyday problems.

Other politicians copied this behavior. Nenad Stevandić claimed that political leaders in Sarajevo were creating radical extremist groups. SDA official Faruk Kapidžić accused political opponents of helping create a Greater Serbia. Candidates also faced insults based on religion and gender. For example, some opponents attacked female candidates with degrading domestic stereotypes. The election law bans all degrading speech about candidates of any gender.

Under the law, violators face fines up to 30,000 Bosnian marks or removal from the election. Still, actual punishments remain rare. The election monitoring coalition Pod lupom recorded about sixty hate speech incidents. The Central Election Commission received thirty-seven formal complaints. However, the commission issued only one fine of 5,000 marks. Commission head Jovan Kalaba admitted that their monitoring capacity is very limited.

Experts argue that symbolic fines do not stop wealthy political parties. In addition, campaigns have moved away from big rallies and onto social media. Online hate speech spreads quickly and polarizes society even more. Agnes Picod from the United Nations human rights office warned that hate speech harms democracy. She urged Bosnian institutions to act faster and punish offenders effectively.