SARAJEVO, Bosnia andโ Herzegovina โฃ- โฃMilorad Dodik, the former president of Bosnia’s Serb Republic, claimed victory for his party’sโค candidate, Sinisa Karan, in Sunday’sโข presidential election. Dodik,โ speaking โคat the headquarters of hisโ Alliance of โฃIndependent Social Democrats (SNSD), stated, “Our candidate Sinisa karan won today’s election.” The election was held after โฃDodik himself was removed from officeโข and barredโค from political activityโข for six years.
The outcome of the vote โขin โขthe Bosnian Serb-dominatedโ region is being closely watchedโฃ as it will indicate whether the area shiftsโฃ away from Dodik’s long-held nationalist policies orโ continues down a path ofโค separatist actions that โขthreaten Bosnia and Herzegovina’s stability.
Preliminary results are expected to be โannounced by the central election commission Sundayโ night. Accordingโ to Zeljko Bakalar, a memberโฃ of โคthe commission, initial figures show a voter turnout of just over 31 percent, with over 1.2 million eligible voters.
Though, theโ election was โnot โฃwithout concerns. Observers from several โnon-governmental organizationsโฃ reported irregularities including shortages of voting materials, breaches of the โฃpre-election media silence, restrictions on โฃelection โฃmonitoring, and โalleged pressure on voters.