Barred Bosnian Serb leader Dodik’s party wins presidential election

The territory’s snap presidential election was won by close ally of Milorad Dodik, the former leader of the Serb-run region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who was barred from office for promoting separatist policies that were stoking ethnic tensions.

The election commission announced on Sunday that Sinisa Karan, who represents the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), had won the majority of the vote in the election, which was called for Dodik’s replacement as president after he was removed from office and permanently barred from politics for six years.

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Karan’s victory was described as “unquestionable,” according to Dodik, who spoke at the SNSD headquarters in Banja Luka, the head of the Bosnian Serb statelet Republika Srpska.

The international High Representative for Bosnia, who oversees the implementation of the 1995 Dayton Accords, which put an end to the bloody three-and-a-half-year Bosnian war, was found guilty of disobeying the orders of the dismissed leader in August.

In Republika Srpska, which is under the control of Bosnian Serbs, he had repeatedly clashed with High Representative Christian Schmidt, who ruled his actions unlawful.

Bosniaks, who are primarily Muslims, and Croats govern the other half of the nation. A central administration ties the two organizations together.

Dodik, who still supports the eventual separation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was fined and resigned as president while still leading his party’s ruling SNSD.

Following his ouster, Karan and Branko Blanusa, a university professor, squared off in the Serb Democratic Party’s snap election on Sunday.

Prior to the vote, Karan claimed that democratic elections “were a means of strengthening our Republic of Srpska and our entire republic” and that they were also “a means of strengthening our peace and stability.”

However, Karan’s victory was reportedly his victory, with Dodik indicating that he would continue to lead the charge and that “I will remain with you to fight for our political goals.”

The complex political structure of Bosnia was established 30 years ago by the US-brokered Dayton peace agreement, which put an end to the ethnic conflict that claimed more than 100 000 lives and left millions of people homeless.