Bosnia's Serb-majority entity heads to polls to pick new president

Voting began at 7.00 am local time (0600GMT) at 2,211 polling stations in Republika Srpska and abroad, and will conclude until 7.00 pm (1800GMT).

Bosnia's election commission reported that there are over 1 million registered voters in Republika Srpska.

The first unofficial results are expected before midnight.

6 candidates are competing

The election commission announced that six candidates are vying for the Republika Srpska president following the removal of Milorad Dodik from his post.

Experts predict the strongest candidate is Sinisa Karan, the science, technology and higher education minister, who is backed by the Union of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), which Dodik leads.

Dragan Djokanovic of the New Policy Union, Branko Blanusa of the Serbian Democratic Party, Nikola Lazarevic of the Ecological Party of the Republika Srpska, and independent candidates Igor Gasevic and Slavko Dragicevic will also be vying for the post.

Dodik's separatist rhetoric, process leading to snap elections

Dodik, frequently in the news for his separatist rhetoric in Bosnia and Herzegovina, had stated that he does not recognize the Office of the High Representative (OHR), established by the Dayton Peace Agreement that ended the 1992-1995 war in the country, and High Representative Christian Schmidt.

Under Dodik's leadership, the Republika Srpska National Assembly (NSRS) decided in June 2023 not to publish High Representative Schmidt's decisions in the entity's Official Gazette.

Schmidt, who had the authority to enact legislation, when necessary, rejected Dodik's separatist steps and annulled the decisions made by the NSRS.

After Dodik continued his separatist stance, claiming that Republika Srpska will “secede from Bosnia and Herzegovina," an indictment was filed against him for "not respecting the OHR decisions," and a prison sentence was sought.

In December 2023, Dodik was sentenced to one year in prison and a six-year political ban, which the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina commuted to a fine.

Then, Bosnia's Central Election Commission unanimously removed Dodik from his position as the RS president.