Sinisa Karan wins early presidential elections in Bosnian Republika Srpska

The candidate of the ruling Union of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) Sinisa Karan wins early presidential elections in Bosnian Republika Srpska, according to official preliminary data from the Bosnian Central Election Commission (CEC).

With votes counted from 92.79 percent of polling stations in Republika Srpska, Sinisa Karan received 200,116 votes, or 50.89 percent. His opponent from the opposition Serbian Democratic Party (SDS), Branko Blanuša, received 188,010 votes, or 47.81 percent.

The SDS said they did not recognize Karan's victory and demanded a rerun in three towns - Doboj, Zvornik and Laktasi.

Earlier this evening, the leader of the SNSD and former president Milorad Dodik declared Karan's victory, indicating that he received a total of 215,226 votes, while his opponent Blanuša received 205,212 votes.

Today, Bosnian Serbs voted for president in early elections in Republika Srpska, which were called after the mandate of former president Milorad Dodik was terminated following a final court ruling that sentenced him to one year in prison and a six-year ban on political activity for failing to comply with the High Representative's decisions of the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt.

According to the Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the Bosnian War (1992-1995), the country was divided into two semi-autonomous parts - the Republika Srpska, populated mainly by Bosnian Serbs, and the Muslim-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks) and Bosnian Croats live. Each part has its own government, parliament and police, but the two are linked by common state-level institutions, including a judiciary, army, security services and tax administration. The Dayton Agreement also regulates the role of the High Representative of the international community, who has broad powers, including the power to impose laws and dismiss officials.