Soon presidential elections are being held in the autonomous Republika Srpska in Bosnia after Milorad Dodik was removed from office, Euronews reported. Support for Dodik is expected to have shifted to Sinisa Karan from the ruling Union of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD). Meanwhile, the opposition Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) claims that its candidate Branko Blanusa is leading according to opinion polls, while the SNSD disputes the data.
The Central Election Commission scheduled the early vote for today after the removal from office of the leader of the Bosnian Serb nationalists, who was convicted of failing to comply with the decisions of the country's international envoy and the Constitutional Court and had his mandate terminated prematurely.
The case triggered a months-long political crisis in the country, considered the worst since the end of the war in the former Yugoslav republic in 1995.
Dodik said at a rally in support of Sinisa Karan that "the will of the people is most important". He criticized the federal government, which has devastated Republika Srpska. "We defend the freedom of Republika Srpska, we defend its dignity. We are the ones who build Republika Srpska, the ones who will not allow investments to stop. We are the guarantor of stability and the safety of every family," emphasized Milorad Dodik.
Opposition candidate Branko Blanusa is focusing his campaign on corruption issues. "I can look every citizen of Republika Srpska in the eye, regardless of their faith or nationality," assured Blanusa. Also running for the presidency are Igor Gašević, Slavko Dragičević, Dragan Đokanović and Nikola Lazarević, who campaigned for the protection of natural resources.
At the same time, the "Pod lupom" coalition reported irregularities that the Bosnian Central Election Commission has not classified as violations.