KARAN'S ELECTION - RENEWAL OF DEMOCRATIC LEGITIMACY

BANJA LUKA, NOVEMBER 24 /SRNA/ – Bojan Šolaja from the Center for International and Security Studies has stated for SRNA that the victory of SNSD candidate Siniša Karan in the early presidential election in Republika Srpska once again confirmed the full legitimacy of the people’s electoral will expressed in 2022.

"It was the intention for Karan to complete President Milorad Dodik's term by winning this election, thereby giving full legitimacy to the people's will expressed in 2022. And that is essentially what last night's election confirmed," Šolaja said. Šolaja stated that the winning result reflects the continuity of the policies of the parties in power in Republika Srpska. He added that the opposition, on the other hand, used this election to regroup and reorganize, and to achieve a result with a new political figure such as Branko Blanuša—something they had not managed before. Šolaja believes the opposition in some respects likely succeeded in that intention, but also demonstrated its lack of unity. "Although they had a candidate who managed to bring them together, it is clear they could not function cohesively. This was evident during the campaign itself, when some of the parties supporting Blanuša excluded themselves from parts of the campaign," Šolaja added. He pointed out that the results of this election essentially reflect the current political landscape in Republika Srpska. "If we compare it with some earlier election cycles, there are no drastic deviations in terms of differences. At the level of certain local communities we may see different results, but various circumstances influenced these trends—from unfavorable weather conditions and power outages to a lack of interest among some voters," Šolaja noted. He emphasized that one must not forget that regular general elections will be held next year, meaning that this presidential term will in essence be very short. SNSD candidate Siniša Karan won 217,324 votes, or 50.30 percent, while SDS candidate Branko Blanuša received 208,955 votes, or 48.37 percent, according to the preliminary, unofficial, and incomplete results published this morning by the BiH Central Election Commission after 99.72 percent of polling stations were processed.