Elections in Serbian Republic of Bosnia have been stolen-Opposition
2022.11.02 16:24
Elections in Serbian Republic of Bosnia have been stolen-Opposition
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – On Wednesday, Serb opposition parties demonstrated against the outcomes of the presidential election that took place a month ago in the autonomous Serb Republic of Bosnia. They said that the state election commission ignored evidence that the vote was rigged.
On October 2, Bosnia held elections for the Serb Republic’s president and vice president, as well as elections for the presidential and parliamentary positions. The verified final results on Wednesday showed that Milorad Dodik, a veteran leader of the Bosnian Serb nationalist movement, defeated principal rival Jelena Trivic to win the presidential election.
Two protests were held last month, drawing thousands of people to Banja Luka, the de facto capital of the region, in response to opposition parties’ request for a recount of ballots and allegations of widespread fraud at the polling places. Additionally, they requested that the vote be repeated in court complaints.
Both the election commission’s verification of the final results and the court’s appeal chamber’s dismissal of all complaints on Wednesday were condemned by opposition leaders as being carried out under political pressure.
According to Serb Democratic Party (SDS) member Milan Radovic, “Jelena Trivic was brutally stolen from.” We must fight to prevent such a brutal theft from ever occurring again, as verified by an institution.
Dodik’s close ties to Russia and hardline Serb nationalism have made peace overseers from the European Union and NATO worry that Bosnia might split up again along ethnic lines a generation after the devastating war in the 1990s.
In Banja Luka, hundreds of opposition supporters gathered in front of the building that houses the official broadcaster of the Serb Republic, RTRS. They chanted “Mile Thief,” which was Dodik’s nickname, and “Thieves!”
According to the demonstrators, RTRS has only served Dodik and his ruling SNSD party by spreading false information about opposition leaders.
Djordje Vucinic, a speaker from the southern town of Trebinje, said, “We say enough to this factory of evil and hatred that it has produced over the decades.”
Dodik and his coalition partners declared victory last week in front of tens of thousands of supporters in Banja Luka’s main square, despite the ongoing recount.
At various levels of governance in Bosnia, which is made up of a Bosniak-Croat federation in addition to the Serb Republic, the outcomes of the elections that took place on October 2 highlighted the continued dominance of nationalists over reformists.
