DODIK: BOSNIAKS BACKED BLANUŠA WITH ISLAMIC COMMUNITY INFLUENCE

BANJA LUKA, NOVEMBER 24 /SRNA/ – SNSD President Milorad Dodik stated that the early elections showed that Bosniaks, by supporting opposition candidate Branko Blanuša, sought to demonstrate that they are not loyal to Republika Srpska, pointing out that in many Bosniak-majority areas SNSD candidate Siniša Karan received no votes.

"Bosniaks had a comfortable position, and that's why they voted for Blanuša. They wanted to show they are not servile and loyal to Republika Srpska. It's impossible that in areas where they vote, SNSD gets no votes. This was an organized effort coordinated through the Islamic Community," Dodik said at a press conference in Banja Luka. He emphasized that the opposition remained at 180,000 votes when taking into account around 20,000 Bosniak votes, noting that Bosniak support is evident after analyzing polling stations in Prijedor and Teslić. "I'm not saying this to justify anything, but because these are complex circumstances. It was difficult to motivate our voters. We are entitled to more than 350,000 votes, while the opposition will not surpass 200,000 which will become clear next year," Dodik said. He added that for SNSD, this chapter is closed and that those who attempted to harm Republika Srpska have been defeated. "Bosniak and Muslim elements wanted to undermine Republika Srpska through Schmidt. This is unprecedented. Our policies remain the same. They attacked us and said all kinds of things. Despite that, we did not say anything negative about the opposition or their candidate," Dodik stressed. He stated that the people prevailed over Schmidt, Sarajevo's ill intentions, and what he described as the opposition's betrayal. "Members of the opposition misrepresented themselves to the electorate. Their policies would not have brought anything good to Republika Srpska," Dodik underlined. He added that the victory was achieved under extremely difficult circumstances. "We are not against Bosniaks, but the loyalty they show to SDS is not loyalty to Republika Srpska," Dodik emphasized.