BiH Election Commission announces preliminary results of Republika Srpska rerun vote, SNSD's Karan wins

According to the CEC, Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) candidate Sinisa Karan won 224,384 votes, while opposition candidate Branko Blanusa received 213,513 votes.

Before Karan can formally assume office, the Central Election Commission must determine and certify the final election results.

A total of 84,474 voters were eligible to vote in the repeated snap election for president of Republika Srpska. Of those, 41,826 voters cast ballots, representing a turnout of 49.51 percent.

The election was held at 136 polling stations across 17 municipalities and cities in Republika Srpska. The voting process was accompanied by numerous reports of irregularities and alleged electoral violations, including claims of vote buying. These allegations were reported to the Republika Srpska Ministry of Interior, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and local election commissions.

With the announcement of preliminary results, Sinisa Karan has effectively been elected president of Republika Srpska. He is expected to remain in office until the conclusion of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s general elections scheduled for October this year.