Bosnia Election: Dodik Declares Victory as Bećirović Narrowly Holds Bosniak Seat

Bosnian Serb nationalist Milorad Dodik declared victory for his party late on Sunday after a general election shaped by economic pressures, Bosnia's EU bid and ethnic tensions, according to The Associated Press.

Preliminary results from Bosnia's Central Election Commission (CEC) put Dodik's ally Željka Cvijanović, Darijana Filipović and incumbent Denis Bećirović on course to take the three seats in the country's tripartite presidency, N1 and AP reported.

Dodik: "We smashed it"

With nearly 90% of votes counted, Cvijanović of the right-wing Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) had more than 55% of the vote for the Serb seat, about 30 percentage points ahead of her nearest rival, AP reported.

Dodik, who was not on the ballot, told a news conference his party would also hold a "vast majority" in Republika Srpska's assembly. "No one should ask us to change our politics," he said. "We will not give up, but continue for our people … I cannot believe that we smashed it like this."

Dodik was barred from public office after being convicted last year of defying decisions by the international envoy overseeing the 1995 peace agreement, AP noted.

Tight Bosniak race, clear Croat win

With more than 94% of votes counted, Bećirović of the Social Democratic Party led Bakir Izetbegović of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) by fewer than three percentage points, while Filipović of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ BiH) held a commanding lead, according to AP.

"Nine months ago, they were calling on me to withdraw, to give up. Nine months later, I want to say: I did not give up, I won," Bećirović said, according to N1. "The future of our region is not in adopting the Russian model, but the European one."

Izetbegović conceded and congratulated his rival. "What happens to me is unimportant. What matters is that SDA won," he said.

SNSD takes Republika Srpska presidency

SNSD candidate Savo Minić won the race for president of Republika Srpska, according to preliminary CEC results cited by N1. His rival Branko Blanuša conceded, saying: "I think it is largely clear that Mr Savo Minic is the new president of Republika Srpska."

Minić pledged to be "the president of all citizens of Republika Srpska, those who voted and those who did not, regardless of their religion or nationality."

The CEC said 1,432,269 votes were cast, a turnout of 42%, down about 8% from the 2022 election, AP reported. About 3.4 million people were eligible to vote. All results remain preliminary until the commission certifies the final count.