Separatist presidential candidate wins in the Serbian part of Bosnia and Herzegovina

A close ally of separatist leader Milorad Dodik wins early elections in the Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to preliminary results, politician Siniša Karan won 50.89 percent of the vote.

Opposition candidate Branko Blanuša of the more moderate SDS party polled 47.81 percent of Serbs. Turnout was significantly lower than in the 2022 election, at just 35.78 percent, with nearly 93 percent of the vote counted.

The election was held after Dodik was impeached and banned from politics for six years. Karan, the incumbent minister for science and technology development, vows to continue Dodik's policies "with even more vigour".

The SDS wants a rerun of voting in three districts because of alleged irregularities. The early mandate will last less than a year as regular elections are scheduled for October.

The situation is playing out against the backdrop of an ongoing crisis, heightened by Dodik's February scandal and his subsequent manoeuvres following the repeal of the separatist laws.

(reuters, hal)