FR: Dodik's era is coming to an end, the irritated Bosnian Serb leader declared a narrow victory for his puppet

Frankfurter Rundschau (FR) also writes that Karan's opponent in the elections, Branko Blanuša from the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS), was in a subordinate position from the beginning because the state media ignored him, "the SNSD machinery stood against him, and other opposition parties that officially supported him denied him active assistance in the campaign."

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Dodik and Karan, Photo: Reuters

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24.11.2025. 22:30h

Presidential candidate Milorad Dodik won a very narrow victory in the early elections in Republika Srpska (RS), and this fact and the very low voter turnout testify to Dodik's decline in popularity and that his era is coming to an end, the Frankfurter Rundschau (FR) daily writes today.

The German daily writes that the winner of the early elections, with a lead of only 8.000 votes, the candidate of Dodik's Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), Siniša Karan, will only be in power until the fall of next year, but that power will remain where Dodik is, who will now only govern RS from behind the scenes.

The daily writes that usually victory celebrations look different, and that now "with a serious voice and a grim face, the irritated Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik declared a narrow victory late Sunday night" for his puppet Sinisa Karan with 50,3 percent of the vote.

"But the drop in voter turnout from 53 percent in 2022 to 35 percent a year before the Bosnian parliamentary, entity and presidential elections also testifies to the decline in popularity. It seems that many in Serbia are increasingly fed up with the ongoing tensions that Dodik is creating in the Bosnian multinational labyrinth," writes FR.

Karan's assumption of the position of entity head in Banja Luka will probably not change anything, but his narrow victory is a bad message for Dodik.

"The unjoyful winner is contrasted with the hopeful loser. Despite accusations that the SNSD stole votes, the often-quarrelsome opposition feels empowered ahead of the 'super election year' next fall."

FR also writes that Karan's opponent in the elections, Branko Blanuša from the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS), was in a subordinate position from the beginning because the state media ignored him, "the SNSD machinery turned against him, and other opposition parties that officially supported him denied him active assistance in the campaign."

However, "if the trend of voters turning away from SNSD continues, next fall at the latest, the tandem of the two Dodiks, with a year's delay, is threatened with the end of an era," FR assesses.