Siniša Karan became the new president of Republika Srpska after Dodik. Preliminary election results brought a narrow victory over Branko Banuš from SDS.
Siniša Karan, the candidate of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) and a close ally of the deposed president Milorad Dodik, won the early presidential elections in the Republika Srpska (RS) on Sunday. This follows from preliminary official results published by the central election commission, according to AFP, writes TASR.
- Siniša Karan won the presidential election in Republika Srpska.
- The SNSD candidate won 50.89% of the votes, defeating Branko Banuš.
- Karan’s next term of office will last until October 2026.
- Karan will replace the dismissed president Milorad Dodik.
- Bosnian Serbs do not recognize the legitimacy of the high official.
Former interior minister RS Karan won 50.89 percent of the vote, while his main rival and opposition candidate Branko Banuš of the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) got 47.81 percent. According to the commission, these results are based on votes counted from almost 93 percent of polling stations. According to the Reuters agency, SDS announced that due to serious irregularities, it will request a repeat vote in three polling stations.
Karan will replace Dodik
The winner of the early elections will take over the office of President of the RS after Dodik, who was removed from his post for disrespecting the decisions of the UN High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt. The courts rejected Dodik’s appeals and confirmed his deprivation of mandate and a six-year ban on holding political office. On October 18, the RS Parliament appointed Ana Trišičová-Babičová as temporary president.
According to the AP agency, Dodik, who remains SNSD chairman despite the ban, declared Karan’s victory on Sunday and sharply criticized the procedure that led to his removal from the presidency. “They wanted to overthrow Dodik in an unfair trial and now they have two Dodiks and they will watch us every day,” he said. Karan added that as part of the policy, “we will continue where we left off”.
**Short tenure**
The elected candidate will take over the office for less than a year – his term of office will end in October 2026, when the next regular elections will be held.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a federal state. In addition to RS with a Serbian majority, it also consists of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is dominated by Bosniaks and Croats. Both state entities were created on the basis of the Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the war in 1992-1995. Its implementation is overseen by a high representative appointed by the international community. The Bosnian Serbs do not recognize its legitimacy.
