Bosnien und Herzegowina

Bosnian Serb politician Sinisa Karan, the candidate backed by dismissed president Milorad Dodik, won Sunday’s snap election with 50.89% of the vote, preliminary results showed. His main rival, Branko Blanusa, secured 47.81%, the central electoral commission said, based on nearly 93% of polling stations counted.

While candidates could campaign freely ahead of yesterday’s early election of the president of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the undue advantages enjoyed by the ruling party combined with the removal of public campaign funding created an uneven playing field, international observers said in a statement today.

The Security Council today unanimously adopted resolution 2795 (2025) … renewing for 12 months the authorization granted to the European Union for the multinational stabilization force, EUFOR-Althea, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened an observation mission for the 23 November early election of the president of Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, following an invitation from the national authorities.

The appointment of Ana Trisic Babic as acting president until November's election follows Milorad Dodik’s removal from office after he was sentenced to a year in prison and given a six-year ban on holding public office.

The Bosnian Serb strongman has named his candidate for the November 23 presidential elections in the Serb-led entity, finally acknowledging his court conviction and exclusion from office in August.

With Russia unwilling to ride to his rescue, Milorad Dodik now has little choice except to step down from power in Republika Srpska and focus on selecting a trusted replacement. 

The National Assembly of the autonomous Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) on Friday voted to call for a referendum on a federal court’s decision to ban the entity’s former president from holding office. In a late-night session, the assembly rejected the decision of BiH’s Central Election Commission to terminate Milorad Dodik’s mandate, declaring the move unconstitutional and politically motivated.

The US State Department’s annual human rights report said Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik undermined Bosnia and Herzegovina’s constitutional order while Bosnian Serb leaders used “divisive and inflammatory rhetoric” that raised tensions.

The state court accepted a plea from Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, who was sentenced to a year in prison and given a six-year ban on holding political office, to convert his jail term to a fine of 18,660 euros.