Sarajevo: Voters in the Serb-run part of Bosnia cast ballots on Sunday to elect a new president after former pro-Russian leader Milorad Dodik was removed from office over separatist policies that were stoking instability in the ethnically tense Balkan nation.
Dodik was ousted in August when a Bosnian court convicted him of disobeying the orders of the international High Representative for Bosnia, sentenced him to a year in prison and banned him from holding any public office.
He has since paid a fine to stay away from jail and stepped aside as president while staying at the helm of his governing Party of Independent Social Democrats.
Sunday’s snap ballot pits Sinisa Karan, who is backed by Dodik, against Branko Blanusa, a university professor who is a candidate of the opposition Serb Democratic Party. Four more contenders are in the race, but they are not considered strong candidates.
Blanusa said upon casting his ballot in the northwestern town of Banja
Luka that “the election campaign passed in a fair and tolerant atmosphere.”
“I hope the election day will be the same,” Blanusa added, urging a high turnout among the 1.2 million Bosnian Serb voters.
Bosnian Serbs are in charge of about one-half of Bosnia, which is called Republika Srpska. The other half is run jointly by Bosniaks, who are mainly Muslims, and Croats The two entities are bound together by a central administration.