Republika Srpska holding snap polls for President whose term will be less than 1 year

The snap polls ewere called after Milorad Dodik, who was elected President of Republika Srpska in 2022, lost his mandate following a final court ruling in which the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina sentenced him to one year in prison for failing to comply with the decisions of the High Representative of the international community.

Although voters will have six candidates to choose from, analysts predict that the main contest will be between the current Republika Srpska government minister, Siniša Karan, a close aide to Dodik, who has been nominated on behalf of the ruling Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), and Branko Blanusa, a professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Banja Luka, whose candidacy was put forward by the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) and is supported by most opposition parties.

These elections are seen as a test of Dodik’s popularity following his conviction and removal from office, as well as the measure that barred him from holding any governmental position for six years. Dodik was a key figure at the rallies where Karan was supposed to be promoted.

"It seems that it is unclear even in the public about who the actual candidate is, as Dodik persistently tried to present himself as the President of Republika Srpska during the campaign," said Ivana Korajlic from Transparency International (TI), which monitored the conduct and fairness of the election campaign, in which the SNSD spent over €300,000, while the SDS spent roughly four times less, around €70,000.

The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SIP) announced that 2,211 polling stations will be opened on Sunday, while 139 mobile teams will operate in the field.

The SIP has accredited 639 observers to oversee the electoral process, of whom 515 are from non-governmental organisations and 99 from international organisations, including the OSCE, while a further 25 observers have been delegated by political parties.

It is estimated that the cost of holding these elections will be just over €3.3 million.

Polling stations will open on Sunday at 7 a.m. and close at 7 pm.

The first unofficial results, released by party election headquarters, are expected from 9 pm.

The candidate who is elected will assume the office of President of Republika Srpska and his term expires in October 2026, when next regular elections are due to take place.