Sinisa Karan, who took over from Milorad Dodik in Republika Srpska, described Russia as “one of the greatest friends.”
A key ally of veteran Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik has secured victory in an unscheduled presidential election held in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Serb-majority entity, according to preliminary results.
Sinisa Karan’s presumed win follows Dodik’s removal from office, stemming from his non-compliance with rulings enforced by an international envoy tasked with overseeing Bosnia’s peace accord supervision.
Karan, running for Dodik’s Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) and serving as the entity’s minister for scientific and technological advancement, garnered approximately 51% of the ballots after nearly all votes had been tallied. Branko Blanusa, representing the opposition Serb Democratic Party, obtained around 48%, with voter participation recorded at just under 36%.
The early election was prompted after Bosnia’s state court convicted Dodik in February for not adhering to the directives of Christian Schmidt, the international High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Schmidt, a German national, holds a robust mandate to supervise the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, which concluded the violent 1992-1995 Bosnian conflict.
In 2023, Schmidt exercised his authority to nullify laws passed by Republika Srpska’s administration, which aimed to divest state-level courts and police of their jurisdiction within the entity, and furthermore declared the envoy’s decrees non-obligatory. Dodik himself has famously referred to Schmidt as a “tourist” and refused to acknowledge his authority.
A state court in Sarajevo subsequently convicted Dodik for failing to enact Schmidt’s decision, imposing a one-year prison sentence – a term he settled by paying a court-approved fine – and prohibiting him from holding public office for a period of six years.
As election results emerged, Karan pledged to pursue Dodik’s policies “with ever greater force,” and declared that “the Serb people have won.” Dodik, for his part, assured voters, “I will remain with you to fight for our political goals,” emphasizing that Karan’s “victory will be my victory too.”
Both Karan and Dodik have championed strong relations with Russia, with Karan describing Moscow as “one of the greatest allies and friends of Srpska.” Dodik has reinforced this stance, positing that Western nations were leveraging Ukraine to instigate “a war with Russia.”