Administrative divisions: there are two first-order administrative divisions - the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska; note - Brcko in northeastern Bosnia is a self-governing administrative unit under the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina; it is not part of either the Federation or Republika Srpska
Independence: NA April 1992 (from Yugoslavia)
National holiday: Bosnia and Herzegovina - BiH National Day, 25
November
Constitution: the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995, included a new constitution now in force
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Chairman of the Presidency Alija IZETBEGOVIC (chairman since 14 February 2000, presidency member since 14 March 1996 - Bosniak); other members of the three-member rotating (every 8 months) presidency: Zivko RADISIC (since 13 October 1998 - Serb) and Ante JELAVIC (since NA September 1998 - Croat) head of government: vacant; note - in February 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that the structure of the Council of Ministers was unconstitutional; a new structure is being negotiated cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairmen note: President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Ejup GANIC (since 28 December 1999; Vice President Ivo ANDRIC-LUZANIC (since 28 December 1999); note - president and vice president rotate every year; President of the Republika Srpska: vacant since Nikola POPLASEN was removed by the Office of the High Representative on 5 March 1999 (see Government note) elections: the three members of the presidency (one Bosniak, one Croat, one Serb) are elected by popular vote for a four-year term; the member with the most votes becomes the chairman unless he or she was the incumbent chairman at the time of the election; election last held 12-13 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2002); the cochairmen of the Council of Ministers are appointed by the presidency election results: percent of vote - Zivko RADISIC with 52% of the Serb vote was elected chairman of the collective presidency for the first 8 months; Ante JELAVIC with 52% of the Croat vote followed RADISIC in the rotation; Alija IZETBEGOVIC with 87% of the Bosniak vote won the highest number of votes in the election but was ineligible to serve a second term until RADISIC and JELAVIC had each served a first term as Chairman of the Presidency
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of the National House of Representatives or Vijece Opcina (42 seats - 14 Serb, 14 Croat, and 14 Bosniak; members elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) and the House of Peoples or Vijece Gradanstvo (15 seats - 5 Bosniak, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members elected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly to serve two-year terms) elections: National House of Representatives - elections last held 12-13 September 1998 (next to be held in fall 2000); House of Peoples - last constituted 4 December 1998 (next to be constituted in fall 2000) election results: National House of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by party/coalition - KCD 17, HDZ-BiH 6, SDP-BiH 6, Sloga 4, SDS 4, SRS-RS 2, DNZ 1, NHI 1, RSRS 1; House of Peoples - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by party/coalition - NA note: the Bosniak/Croat Federation has a bicameral legislature that consists of a House of Representatives (140 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve 4-year terms); elections last held fall 1998 (next to be held fall 2000); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party/coalition - KCD 68, HDZ-BiH 28, SDP-BiH 25, NHI 4, DNZ 3, DSP 2, BPS 2, HSP 2, SPRS 2, BSP 1, KC 1, BOSS 1, HSS 1; and a House of Peoples (72 seats - 30 Bosniak, 30 Croat, and 12 others); last constituted November 1998; the Republika Srpska has a National Assembly (83 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve 4-year terms); elections last held fall 1998 (next to be held fall 2000); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party/coalition - SDS 19, KCD 15, SNS 12, SRS-RS 11, SPRS 10, SNSD 6, RSRS 3, SKRS 2, SDP 2, KKO 1, HDZ-BiH 1, NHI 1; as of January 1999, Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have a permanent election law; a draft law specifies four-year terms for the state and first-order administrative division entity legislatures
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, consists of nine members: four
members are selected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of
Representatives, two members by the Republika Srpska's National
Assembly, and three non-Bosnian members by the president of the
European Court of Human Rights
Political parties and leaders: Bosnian Party of Rights or BSP [leader
NA]; Bosnian Party or BOSS ; Bosnian Patriotic Party
or BPS ; Center Coalition or KC (includes LBO, RS)
; Civic Democratic Party or GDS ; Coalition
for King and Fatherland or KKO (Dubravko Prstojevic]; Coalition for a
United and Democratic BIH or KCD [Alija IZETBEGOVIC; includes SDA and
SBH]; Croatian Democratic Union of BiH or HDZ-BiH ;
Croatian Party of Rights or HSP ; Croatian Peasants
Party of BiH or HSS-BiH ; Democratic Party for Banja Luka
and Krajina ; Democratic Party of Pensioners or DSP
; Democratic Peoples Union or DNZ ;
Liberal Bosniak Organization or LBO ; Liberal Party
or LS ; Muslim-Bosnia Organization or MBO
; New Croatian Initiative or NHI ;
Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina or SBH ; Party for
Democratic Action or SDA ; Party of Democratic
Progress of the Republika Srpska ; Party of Independent
Social Democrats or SNSD ; Radical Party Republika
Srpska of RSRS ; Republican Party or RS [Stjepan
KLJUIC]; Serb Coalition for Republika Srpska or SKRS [Predrag
LAZAREVIC]; Serb Democratic Party or Serb Lands or SDS [Dragan
KALINIC]; Serb National Alliance or SNS ; Serb
Radical Party-Republika Srpska or SRS-RS (banned by
the Office of the High Representative - see Government note - from
participation in the April elections); Sloga or Unity
(includes SNS, SPRS, SNSD); Social Democratic Party BIH or SDP-BiH
; Socialist Party of Republika Srpska or SPRS
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA