The President of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated half always raises tensions ahead of an election while the region where he is in power is "facing bankruptcy," a candidate for the post of Bosniak member of the country’s tripartite Presidency from the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (SBiH), Amer Jerlagic, said.

Milorad Dodik, the President of Republika Srpska (RS), one of the two semi-autonomous entities in Bosnia, recently said that should Kosovo ask for a seat in the UN, so will the RS.  

“Dodik has no new topics … the entity is, financially speaking, facing bankruptcy,” Jerlagic said.  

“It is impossible to compare Bosnia with Kosovo, it makes no sense. There are patriots in Bosnia and Herzegovina who will not allow it,” he said.  

“Unfortunately, Bosnia’s citizens should realise that people who are leading them for the past 15-20 years already have chased our children away,” Jerlagic said, adding that “between 150,000 and 200,000 young people have left” the country because of the same topics that are being pushed forward for years.  

People should issue a “red card” to politicians currently in power in the upcoming October 7 general election, he said.