About 1.2 million citizens with the right to vote went to the polling stations in Republika Srpska today to elect the new president, who will succeed Milorad Dodik.
The Bosnian Serb entity went to snap elections after the ouster of Dodik, who was convicted of failing to implement the decisions of the international High Representative, Christian Schmidt, who oversees the implementation of the US-brokered Dayton Agreement that ended the 1992-1995 war. Voters have the right to choose between six candidates, but two of them are considered the main favorites.
From Dodik’s party, the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, is Sinisa Karan, former interior minister and close ally of the former president of Republika Srpska. While the main opposition group, the Serbian Democratic Party, has chosen 56-year-old Branko Blanusa. The latter has repeatedly accused Dodik of corruption and endangering the functioning of the Bosnian Serb entity.
The winner of the snap election will be able to serve for less than a year, as the general election is held in October next year. The Republika Srpska presidential election is seen as a decisive test of support for Dodik’s nationalist party, which has been in power for nearly two decades.
