West-defying Serb leader celebrates victory in Bosnia and Herzegovina election

Milorad Dodik’s party retains its influence in Republika Srpska and keeps the Serb seat in the national presidency Milorad Dodik, the former president of Republika Srpska, the Serb-majority entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, has celebrated his party’s performance in Sunday’s general election.The Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) is set to retain its lead in the Republika Srpska parliament, keep the entity’s presidency and hold on to the Serb seat in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s three-member collective presidency, according to preliminary results released by the Election Commission after more than 90% of ballots had been counted. The party is projected to get roughly 40% of the seats in the regional legislature.Dodik himself was not on the ballot after being barred from holding public office over his 2025 conviction for defying Christian Schmidt, the German politician who at the time served as the international high representative overseeing implementation of the 1995 Dayton Agreement. Dodik argued that Schmidt lacked UN Security Council backing for the post and had abused the office to curb Republika Srpska’s autonomy, leading to a bitter political standoff.Speaking to sup...