In the Serbian part of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Republika Srpska (RS), Sinisa Karan of the ruling party SNSD, according to preliminary official information presidential election won. With around 200,000 votes (50.85 percent) he beat opposition candidate Branko Blanusa of SDS, who received around 188,000 votes (47.8 percent). The Central Election Commission in Sarajevo announced this after counting the votes in almost 93 percent of polling stations.
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.
The government camp must surrender
Karan performed much worse than Dodik in the 2022 election. Dodik received almost 27,000 more votes than his second-placed opponent, Jelena Trivic. Based on the results so far, Karan has secured only around 12,000 votes.
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.
Dodik: The election victory shows the stability of Republika Srpska
Election winner 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 showed the stability of Republika Srpska despite “unfavorable circumstances”.
Dodik is a Serbian nationalist and maintains good relations with the Kremlin. As General Chair of the SNSD Party, he wants to continue to determine politics in RS.
The opposition alleges fraud in the election
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. He initially did not provide concrete evidence regarding this.
Since the end of the Bosnian War (1992-1995) 30 years ago, Bosnia-Herzegovina has consisted of two entities: the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina (FBIH), populated mostly by Croats and Bosniaks (Muslims), and the Republika Srpska (RS), populated mostly by ethnic Serbs. These parts of the country are largely independent in areas unrelated to foreign policy, defense and security.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:251123-930-331719/2
