Serb separatist Dodik declares victory in Bosnia vote as ethnic tensions and EU hopes collide
Cvijanovic’s lead would keep Dodik’s SNSD in control of the Serb seat as turnout fell to 42%, election officials said.
- On Sunday, SNSD leader Milorad Dodik declared a "magnificent victory" for his party in Bosnia's election, crediting Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump for the win.
- At a rally in Banja Luka on Friday, Dodik told supporters Bosnia "is dead" and "doesn't make any sense," continuing separatist rhetoric while defying national authorities despite his legal ban from office.
- The Central Election Commission reported a 42% turnout, with technical delays affecting 201 of 1,957 polling stations, while ally Zeljka Cvijanovic secured more than 55% of votes for a presidency seat.
- Analysts warn the results deepen ethnic divisions rooted in the 1995 Dayton peace agreement, raising instability fears as Dodik remains influential despite his legal ban from public office.
- Expert Adnan Cerimagic said Dodik's rhetoric should be viewed as part of a "long escalation" rather than current reality, as the country struggles with governance amid external ethnic pressures.
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122 Articles
The new balance of power puts pressure on the central state structure, and the historically low turnout shows that many citizens have lost confidence in politics.
They will probably try to govern together, as often happens, even if they have different and partly irreconcilable goals
According to unofficial results of Sunday's general elections, the BiH presidency will have a new Croat member, Darijana Filipović from the HDZ BiH, in addition to the two current members. Among the winners of the elections is also Milorad Dodik, who was not allowed to run, but his SNSD retained power in Republika Srpska. After his victory, Dodik announced the continuation of the current policies.
In the Republika Srpska elections, candidates for the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, founded by Milorad Dodik, were defeated by European media.
Pro-Russian Dodik claims party victory in Bosnian elections
"If it had not been for (U.S. President) Donald Trump's magnificent victory, we would probably be political corpses today," Milorad Dodik told his supporters, while also thanking Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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