The President of Republika Srpska (RS) Milorad Dodik, who is also the president of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, has stated that he will be the party's candidate in the elections for the first man of that entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina next year.
He added that this has already been decided and that the candidacy has been confirmed.
"The abuse of the process at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina will end with us starting the election of a new Republic Election Commission in May and transferring the elections to the RS level in accordance with our Election Law," Dodik said in an interview with Belgrade's Politika.
Dodik was recently sentenced by a court in Sarajevo to one year in prison and a six-year ban from holding the office of President of the Republika Srpska "for disrespecting the decision of the High Representative of the international community."
He added that "some will jump around Europe for this, but it doesn't matter what they think about it, it is the people's right to choose."
"The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina has usurped jurisdiction, what do they have to do with the elections in RS. By taking on too many obligations, they have become suffocated. They have taken on too much and cannot deliver it," said Dodik.
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