Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina – Siniša Karan, backed by outgoing Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, has secured victory in the early presidential elections for Republika Srpska, the Serb entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to preliminary official results released Sunday, Karan garnered 50.89% of the vote. His main challenger, opposition candidate Branko Blanuša, received 47.81%, based on nearly 93% of ballots counted, as announced by the Central Election Commission.
Turnout was notably low, with only 35.78% of eligible voters participating, compared to 53% in the 2022 general elections, according to Election Commission Chairman Jovan Kalaba. Over 1.2 million people were eligible to vote in this election. The presidential mandate will be short-lived, with general elections scheduled for October of next year.
The snap election was triggered after former President Milorad Dodik was removed from office and barred from political activity for six years. This vote aims to resolve a period of instability in Bosnia, marked by a power struggle between Dodik, a close ally of Moscow, and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, responsible for overseeing the 1995 peace agreement. This struggle pushed the country into its most serious political crisis since the end of the war.
The President of Republika Srpska is responsible for appointing the Prime Minister and enacting laws, but their powers are limited without a parliamentary majority. The High Representative possesses broad powers, including imposing or amending laws and dismissing elected officials. Dodik has repeatedly condemned these powers and issued numerous insults and threats against the current international envoy, Christian Schmidt.
Dodik was initially sentenced to one year in prison in August, later commuted to a fine, and banned from holding public office for six years for not complying with the international envoy’s decisions. After initially defying the ruling, he eventually accepted the election of his successor.
