Voters in Bosnia’s autonomous Serb Republic participated in a snap election on Sunday to choose a new president after the former president, Milorad Dodik, was removed from office and banned from politics for six years. This election will decide if the region will shift away from Dodik’s nationalist agenda or continue with separatist policies that threaten the unity of Bosnia. Dodik, a pro-Russian separatist, was convicted of not following the constitutional court and an international envoy, leading to a major political crisis.
Most voters in the region’s largest city, Banja Luka, expressed disillusionment about the potential for change. Among the six candidates, two main contenders emerged: Sinisa Karan, a close ally of Dodik, and opposition candidate Branko Blanusa from the Serb Democratic Party. Karan is campaigning with the message that a vote for him is a vote for Dodik, while Blanusa, a newcomer in politics, aims to combat corruption. Over 1.2 million people were eligible to vote, and preliminary results were expected after polling closed at 18:00 GMT. The winner will serve less than a year before general elections next October.
With information from Reuters