ĐURĐEVIĆ: CEC CANNOT OVERTURN THE PEOPLE’S DECISION - WE WILL WIN AGAIN

BIJELJINA, DECEMBER 25 /SRNA/ – The decision of the Central Election Commission of BiH /CEC/ to annul elections at 136 polling stations, almost exclusively in areas where Siniša Karan achieved a decisive victory, represents an open and brutal attack on the electoral will of the citizens of Republika Srpska, said SNSD Presidency member Aleksandar Đurđević.

"This decision is not legal, but purely political. It is the culmination of an artificially created post-election crisis that has lasted since election night, with one single goal, to annul the clear and unquestionable victory of our candidate and to politically engineer a different outcome from what citizens have already decided," Đurđević stated. Stressing that the CEC has struck directly at the electoral will of the people of Republika Srpska, he said that SNSD will win even more convincingly in the repeated elections. Đurđević noted that the electoral process was conducted at 2,164 polling stations and that the CEC appointed the presidents of polling boards and fully managed the entire process. "Under such circumstances, stories about ‘mass irregularities’ appear as a transparent and failed attempt to justify defeat," he assessed. He emphasized that it is particularly indicative that across Republika Srpska only about ten complaints were filed, that all recounts produced nearly identical results to those announced on election night, yet the most drastic measure is being taken, annulment of the elections, and selectively so, only in places where Karan won convincingly. Pointing out that the same scenario is being repeated from one election cycle to another – in 2018, 2022, and now – Đurđević said the opposition recognizes only those polling stations where it won, declaring all others problematic. "nfortunately, the CEC increasingly assumes the role of a political accomplice rather than an independent electoral body," Đurđević pointed out. He added that it is especially concerning that CEC members were appointed outside the legally prescribed procedure and are openly politically engaged, despite the law clearly prohibiting such status, which also raises the issue of the legality of all their decisions. "What we are witnessing today is an attempt to rewrite the electoral will of the people of Republika Srpska, but they must know that the will of the people cannot be annulled by any decision, repeated elections, or pressure," Đurđević said.