波斯尼亚民众即将前往投票站，选出国家、各实体以及县级层面的新一届政府。这一选举流程看似复杂，但对于这个由两个主要实体——波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那联邦与塞族共和国——以及布尔奇科特区组成的国家而言，其实并无新鲜之处。波斯尼亚的选举何时举行？
Bosnians are heading to the polls to choose the next government at all three of the state, entity and canton levels. It may seem complicated, but for a country divided into two entities – the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, along with Brcko District – this is nothing new. When do Bosnia’s elections take place?
本次大选定于10月4日星期日举行，超过340万名选民具备投票资格。本次选举有何不同之处？
The general elections are scheduled for Sunday, October 4. More than 3.4 million people are eligible to vote. What’s different about this election?
今年将采用全新的选举技术：选民身份将通过生物识别设备进行确认，选票则经由扫描仪读取，而非直接投入投票箱。
This year, new election technology will be used. Voters will be identified using biometric devices, while ballot papers will be scanned rather than simply placed in ballot boxes.
不过，使用扫描仪并不意味着投票过程完全电子化。选票依然以纸质形式填写并记录，但这样一来，验证与计票过程有望更加迅速且透明，选民身份识别也会更为精准。谁将竞选总统职位？
The use of scanners, however, does not mean voting will be fully electronic. Votes will still be cast and recorded on paper, but verification and counting should be faster and more transparent, while voter identification should be more accurate. Who is running for the Presidency?
竞选波斯尼亚克族代表席位的候选人包括：现任主席团成员、社会民主党（SDP）的丹尼斯·贝西罗维奇；民主行动党（SDA）的巴基尔·伊泽特贝戈维奇；波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那党（Stranka za BiH）的塞米尔·埃芬迪奇；以及为波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那创造更美好未来联盟（SBB）的法鲁丁·拉东契奇。
Candidates for the Bosniak representative include current Presidency member Denis Becirovic of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Bakir Izetbegovic of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), Semir Efendic of the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (Stranka za BiH), and Fahrudin Radoncic of the Union for a Better Future of BiH (SBB).
作为该国最大的波斯尼亚克族政党——中右翼的民主行动党主席，伊泽特贝戈维奇此前曾在2022年的选举中败给贝西罗维奇，此次是他第三次竞选总统。
Izetbegovic, the president of the centre-right SDA, the biggest Bosniak party in the country, is running for his third term after being defeated by Becirovic in 2022.
竞选克罗地亚族代表席位的候选人共有三位：波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那克罗地亚民主联盟（HDZ BiH）的达里亚娜·菲利波维奇；民主阵线（DF）的斯拉文·科瓦切维奇；以及获得五个克罗地亚族政党联合支持的兹德尼科·卢契奇。
Three candidates will run for the Croat seat in the Presidency: Darijana Filipovic of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ BiH), Slaven Kovacevic of the Democratic Front (DF), and Zdenko Lucic, a candidate supported by a coalition of five Croat parties.
现任波黑三人轮值主席团塞尔维亚族成员、来自右翼独立社会民主党联盟（SNSD）的热利卡·茨维亚诺维奇正在竞选连任。自2022年11月开始在该国最高国家机构任职以来——距俄罗斯发动乌克兰战争仅几个月——她一直与俄罗斯及其总统弗拉基米尔·普京保持着密切且持续的合作。
The current Serb member of the Presidency, Zeljka Cvijanovic from the right-wing Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), is running for a second term. During her term on the country’s top state body, which began in November 2022, just a few months after Russia’s war in Ukraine started, she maintained close and continuous cooperation with Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.
SNSD由前塞族共和国总统米洛拉德·多迪克领导，他因分裂行径以及挑战波黑宪法和前高级代表克里斯蒂安·施密特的决定而闻名。
SNSD is led by Milorad Dodik, the former president of Republika Srpska, best known for his separatist moves and for challenging the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the decisions of former High Representative Christian Schmidt.
茨维亚诺维奇将面对塞尔维亚民主党（SDS）的马林科·博佐维奇和“正义与秩序名单”的内博伊沙·武卡诺维奇。还有谁在候选名单上？选民将选出14个政府的代表，以及该国三人轮值主席团的成员。
Cvijanovic will face Marinko Bozovic of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) and Nebojsa Vukanovic of the List for Justice and Order. Who else is on the ballot? Voters will be choosing representatives for 14 governments, as well as members of the country’s three-member Presidency.
每个实体都有自己的总统、议会、总理和部长。波黑联邦进一步划分为10个州，每个州都有自己的政府。
Each entity has its own president, assembly, prime minister and ministers. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is further divided into 10 cantons, each with its own government.
为了使这一切成为可能，中央选举委员会（CIK）——负责监督投票过程的主要机构——早些时候表示，有75个政党和4名独立候选人已登记并具备参选资格。主席团成员如何产生？
For all this to happen, the Central Election Commission (CIK), the main body responsible for overseeing the voting process, earlier said that 75 political parties and four independent candidates wereed and eligible to participate. How are Presidency members chosen?
选民去投票时，不是选举一位总统，而是选择该国集体国家元首三名成员中的一名。他们分别代表三个构成民族——波什尼亚克族、克罗地亚族和塞尔维亚族。
Whened voters go to the polls, they do not elect one president, but choose one of three members of the country’s collective head of state. They are the representatives of the three constituent peoples – Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs.
波什尼亚克族和克罗地亚族成员从波黑联邦选出，而塞尔维亚族成员则从塞族共和国选出。
The Bosniak and Croat members are elected from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the Serb member is elected from Republika Srpska.
这是因为大多数波什尼亚克族和克罗地亚族居住在联邦，而大多数塞尔维亚族居住在塞族共和国。
This is because the majority of Bosniaks and Croats live in the Federation, while most Serbs live in Republika Srpska.
克罗地亚族成员的选举多年来一直影响着波黑族与克罗地亚族的关系，并常被用作政治僵局的借口。
The election of the Croat member has weighed on Bosniak-Croat relations for years and has often been used as a reason for political blockades.
围绕中右翼的波黑克罗地亚民主联盟（HDZ BiH）的各党派要求修改选举法，称旨在防止波黑族选民影响克罗地亚族总统团成员的选举。
Parties gathered around the centre-right Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ BiH) are demanding changes to the Election Law, saying they want to prevent Bosniak voters from influencing the election of the Croat member of the Presidency.
但这也需要修改宪法，现行宪法允许联邦内所有公民自行选择是为波黑族还是克罗地亚族总统团成员投票。那么，居住在其本族群投票区之外的公民怎么办？
But that would also require changes to the Constitution, which allows all citizens in the Federation to choose whether they want to vote for the Bosniak or the Croat member. What about citizens who live outside their constituent group’s voting area?
一名居住在联邦的塞尔维亚族人，或居住在塞族共和国的波黑族、克罗地亚族人，如果想参选将无法做到，也无法为他们认为的自身代表投票。这是波黑选举制度众多悖论之一。国家级政府如何产生？公民选举议会代表，议会由两院组成。42名代表将当选为代表院议员。三分之二直接由波黑联邦选出，三分之一由塞族共和国选出。法定人数由当选代表院议员总数的多数构成。
A Serb living in the Federation, or a Bosniak or Croat living in Republika Srpska, who wants to run would not be able to do so, nor can they vote for those they consider to be their own representatives. That is one of the many paradoxes of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s electoral system. How is the state-level government chosen? Citizens elect representatives to the Parliamentary Assembly, which consists of two houses. Forty-two representatives will be elected to the House of Representatives. Two-thirds are directly elected from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and one-third from Republika Srpska. A quorum consists of a majority of all members elected to the House of Representatives.
第二院——民族院——有15名代表，通过各机构间接选举产生。它由波黑族、克罗地亚族和塞尔维亚族组成，各族五名代表。实体层面情况如何？实体级政府的选举运作方式略有不同。在塞族共和国，公民直接选举国民议会，以及实体总统和副总统。他们不直接选举政府——政府由国民议会批准任命。
The second chamber – the House of Peoples – has 15 delegates and is elected indirectly through the institutions. It consists of Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs – five from each group. What happens with the entities? The election of entity-level authorities works somewhat differently. In Republika Srpska, citizens directly elect the National Assembly, as well as the entity president and vice presidents. They do not directly elect the government – it is confirmed by the National Assembly.
在波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那联邦，民众直接选举联邦议会下的众议院及各州议会。这些州议会随后选出代表，组成联邦的人民院。
In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, citizens directly elect the House of Representatives of the Federation Parliament and the cantonal assemblies. Those cantonal assemblies then elect delegates to the Federation’s House of Peoples.
选举结束后，根据议会多数派意见及政治协议，将产生联邦总统、联邦政府及各州政府。为何组建政府如此困难？
The president of the Federation, the entity government and the cantonal governments are formed after the elections, through parliamentary majorities and political agreements. Why is it a challenge to form the government?
这不仅因为选举制度复杂，还因为三个不同民族群体的代表之间难以达成共识。
It is difficult not only because the electoral system is complex, but also because of the lack of agreement among representatives of the three different ethnic communities.
尽管许多政客都倡导妥协政治，但频繁的僵局与阻挠使得各级决策过程举步维艰。
Frequent blockades and obstruction make decision-making difficult at all levels, even though many politicians invoke the politics of compromise.
因此，波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那的选举不仅关乎谁能胜出，更关乎这个旨在代表全体民众的体制能否真正服务于民众。为何这些选举至关重要？
Elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, therefore, are not only about who wins, but about whether a system designed to represent everyone can serve its citizens. Why are the elections important?
新的选举技术或许能减少舞弊现象，但该国要迈向欧盟仍需付出更多努力。
New election technologies might reduce potential fraud, but much more will be needed for the country’s path towards the European Union.
选举结果可能推动或进一步延缓那些对加入欧盟至关重要的法律的出台。
The outcome of the election could unblock, or further slow down, the adoption of key laws needed for the country’s progress towards EU membership.
欧盟于2022年12月授予波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那候选国地位，并于2024年启动入盟谈判。然而，由于政治僵局，该国的进展一直十分缓慢且成效有限。
The EU granted Bosnia and Herzegovina candidate status in December 2022 and opened accession negotiations in 2024. However, the country’s progress has since been assessed as very limited and slowed by political blockades.
此次选举也是对执政联盟的一次考验，该联盟曾承诺在生活成本不断上涨的背景下重点解决社会与经济问题。何时公布结果？
These elections will also be a test for the ruling coalition, which promised to focus on social and economic issues amid the rising cost of living. When are the results?
按照惯例，中央选举委员会会在10月4日选举当晚晚些时候公布初步结果，随后每隔几小时更新一次。
The first preliminary results are traditionally published by CIK late on election night, on October 4, and are updated every few hours.
选举结束后数日内，中央选举委员会还会陆续录入其余投票站的选票、流动投票小组收集的数据，以及通过邮寄方式或由外交及领事机构送交的选票。官方结果将于11月20日前公布。
In the days after the elections, CIK gradually enters votes from the remaining polling stations, mobile voting teams, as well as ballots received by mail and from diplomatic and consular missions. The official results will be known no later than November 20.