Bosnia votes as pro-Russian politician's party leads polls
Pro-Russian politician Milorad Dodik's party is likely to win in Bosnia despite him being barred from office.
Around 3.4 million voters in Bosnia are choosing members of the country's three-person presidency, parliament, and leaders of its two entities. Milorad Dodik, a separatist and nationalist banned from holding office after conviction, returned from Moscow where he met President Putin and dominated the campaign.
Milorad Dodik's Alliance of Independent Social Democrats is likely to win in the Serb-majority Republika Srpska. Dodik told supporters at a final rally that Bosnia is dead and makes no sense.
The election comes amid Western concerns that Bosnian Serb leaders' push for separation could reignite tensions that produced the 1992-95 war, which killed more than 100,000 people. Many voters, frustrated with corruption and poverty, hope for new leadership.
- 3.4 million
- Voters in Bosnia
- More than 100,000
- 1992-95 war death toll
- Milorad Dodik
- Pro-Russian leader
- Putin met Dodik before campaign
- Moscow meeting
Why it mattersA victory for Dodik's party suggests continued instability in the Balkans and potential tension between pro-Russian and Western interests in a post-war nation still healing.
AustraliaNo direct Australian effect, though the election reflects broader global tensions between Russian and Western influence in Eastern Europe.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 52 min ago
Open this story in InSnip →
