Milorad Dodik, former President of the Bosnian Serb Republic, and Sinisa Karan attend a press conference after preliminary results indicated Karan won a snap presidential election in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 23, 2025. AMEL EMRIC / REUTERS
Bosnia’s electoral commission on Wednesday, December 24, annulled results at 136 polling stations over “irregularities” from November’s snap vote to choose a successor to the banned president of the Bosnian Serb statelet, Milorad Dodik.
The head of the electoral commission said that this might have been enough to affect the outcome.
In the November 23 election for the president of Republika Srpska, the Dodik-backed candidate Sinisa Karan won 50.4% of the vote, while his main rival opposition-backed Branko Blanusa garnered 48.2%.
With fewer than 10,000 votes separating the two from some 450,000 cast, the opposition accused the Republika Srpska ruling coalition of fraud. They argued that that might have been enough to swing the vote in their favor.
‘Numerous irregularities found’
But the Central Electoral Commission (CIK) rapporteur, Miso Krstovic said Wednesday that “numerous irregularities were found in these early elections”.
Annulling the results in some polling stations was necessary “to protect the integrity of the electoral process”, he added.
And Jovan Kalaba, president of CIK added: “By analyzing these polling stations, we have established that [the irregularities] may have influenced the outcome.”
The CIK’s decision is not final and the parties have two days to challenge it in court. But if it is cleared by the court, the CIK would have to call fresh elections in the polling stations concerned.
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Dodik, who still leads the SNSD party, denounced the decision. “CIK is undermining confidence in the electoral system in Bosnia. They have decided to mock and humiliate voters,” Dodik told reporters on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Blanusa’s SDS party welcomed the decision, saying it protected the “electoral will of the citizens”.
November’s vote was marked by a turnout of less than 36%.