In the presidential election in the Serb-dominated region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the candidate from Karan’s government was provisionally declared the winner. He is considered a confidant of the ousted ruler Dodik. The opposition talks about election manipulation.
According to preliminary official information, Sinisa Karan of the ruling party SNSD has won the presidential election in the Serbian part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska (RS). After 93 percent of polling stations were counted, he received about 50.9 percent of the vote, according to the Central Election Commission. Opposition candidate Branko Blancusa of SDS won about 47.8 percent.
Karan was a confidant of previous President Milorad Dodik, who was ousted after a court ruling for separatist activities and was not allowed to run again.
Karan thanked Dodik in his victory speech
Karan thanked his voters and especially his political mentor Dodik. “When times were most difficult, the Serbian people prevailed. (…) A big thank you to Milorad Dodik and all the members of parliament who defended Republika Srpska.” Dodik emphasized that Karan’s victory shows the stability of Republika Srpska despite “unfavorable circumstances”.
Karan, 63, is a law professor and was science minister and home minister under Dodik. He is considered the favorite of the six candidates. During the election campaign, like Dodik, he presented himself as a fighter specializing in defending Serb interests in Bosnia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina is divided into the Serb-controlled Republika Srpska, the Bosnian-Croatian-controlled Federation, and the Brčko District as special administrative regions. These sub-entities have their own political institutions and are linked by a weak central government. The division of power between Serbs, Bosnians and Croats was divided based on quotas. There have been not one, but three state presidents for about 3.2 million residents.
The opposition complained of manipulation
The defeated Blanusa blamed unexplained irregularities for his loss. “If there had been no manipulation, I could have declared victory tonight,” he said, according to Bosnian media. His party asked for the voting to be repeated in three cities because there was voter fraud there.
In the past there were always doubts whether elections in Republika Srpska would be fair. About 1.2 million people are eligible to vote on Sunday. The voter turnout rate is only around 35 percent – much lower than in 2022 which reached 53 percent.
Because this is an early election, the new president is only elected for one year – until the end of the parliamentary term. The vote is therefore seen as a test for the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections in 2026.
