Go to mediabankMilorad Dodik. File photoBELGRADE, Oct 4Member of the Presidium of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) from the Serbian people Milorad Dodik leads the presidential elections in the Republic of Serbian BiH, the country's Central Electoral Commission said based on preliminary data processed from 94.06% of polling stations. Residents of BiH on Sunday elected three members of the collective head of state — presidium — one each from Bosniaks (Muslim Slavs), Bosnian Croats and local Serbs, 42 deputies of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, 83 deputies of the Assembly (Parliament) of the Republika Srpska (RS BiH), President and Vice-Presidents of the RS BiH, 98 deputies in the House of Representatives of the Croatian-Muslim Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and candidates for municipal assemblies. 3,386,666 citizens had the right to vote, the turnout was 50%.Dodik announced the interference of the EU and the US in the elections in the Republic of Srpska BiHAccording to the data updated on Tuesday afternoon on the official website of the election commission, Dodik is in the lead with 48.28% of the vote, the closest competitor for the presidency of the RS BiH — Elena Trivich — receives 43.39% of voters' support. Material from 94.06% of polling stations has been processed. The leader of the Union of Independent Social Democrats ruling in the RS, Dodik, has already declared his victory and promised to maintain cooperation with Serbia, Russia and Hungary. On Tuesday night, he spoke about the direct interference of EU and US representatives in the will of citizens, on the eve of voting day, the head of the permanent EU delegation to BiH, Johan Sattler, issued a statement in which he called on citizens to vote for changes in order to «stop being in the position of hostages.» US Ambassador Michael Murphy also called on citizens to participate as actively as possible in the expression of will in order to «choose someone else» if the current authorities are not satisfied. He is considered the most pro-Russian politician in BiH, has been under Western sanctions for years and openly does not recognize the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt, whose appointment to the UN was not approved by the Russian Federation and China.
Republika Srpska does not support BiH's accession to NATO, Dodik saidDuring his visit to Moscow on September 22, the candidate for the presidency of the Republic of Srpska met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and stressed that Russia is a key foreign economic partner of the Republika Srpska and constantly provides it with support, including in UN Security Council. In an interview with RIA Novosti, Dodik pointed out that «the West believes that it has the right to decide for others.» He also expressed confidence in his victory, but noted that there is evidence of interference in the elections in BiH from the West — the West finances and promotes its candidates, who do not enjoy broad support from the population. Democratic Party, 39-year-old economics teacher Elena Trivic. She made criticism of 17 years of SNSD rule, the fight against corruption and the urgent needs of citizens as the basis of her campaign.
