Ex-President Dodik’s Candidate Wins Srpska Presidential Election  

Sinisa Karan (Photo: YTPrintScreen)

According to the preliminary results of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Central Electoral Commission, after the Republika Srpska presidential elections were repeated in 17 municipalities and cities on Feb. 8, Sinisa Karan, the candidate of the ruling Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, won 224,384 votes, while Branko Blanusa, the candidate of the oppositional Serb Democratic Party, won 213,513.

The Commission must verify the results before Karan assumes office.

The elections were repeated at a total of 136 polling stations due to voting irregularities.

The early election was originally held on Nov. 23, 2025, after the Commission removed Milorad Dodik from office due to his sentence to one year in prison and a six-year ban from public office for failing to execute the decisions of the high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, issued by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Following the publication of the repeat election ballot count, winning candidate Karan said that the elections were more than just a vote but rather an answer to attempts to topple the constitutional order. “Not only have the institutions of Republika Srpska [and] the institution of the president of the republic been defended, but also the Constitution, which gives us our full constitutional independence in the current framework,” Karan concluded.