Elections in Republika Srpska: Vučić and Dodik accused of election manipulation

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and former President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik are accused of organizing and manipulating voters in the elections in Republika Srpska.

The targeted recruitment of voters from Serbia is seen by some opposition figures as a tactic that influenced the result in favor of SNSD candidate Siniša Karan. According to preliminary results, Karan won by just over 12,000 votes against opposition candidate Branko Blanuša. Opposition parties, including the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS), reject the results as manipulated and are calling for a repeat of the election in Doboj, Laktasi, and Zvornik, as reported by rks.news and The Geopost.

The accusations come from several opposition politicians in Republika Srpska. Opposition leaders believe that these tactics undermine democracy and constitute a direct attack on the integrity of the elections.

The leader of the opposition list “Justice and Order,” Nebojša Vukanović, also claims that Vučić directly interfered in these elections.

“We observed unusual voter activity along the border with Serbia. The opposition candidate Blanuša won everywhere except in the important border towns of Bratunac, Zvornik, Rudo, Višegrad, and Srebrenica. There is no doubt that this was orchestrated by Vučić in favor of Dodik,” he explained. Vukanović claims that buses carrying thousands of voters from Serbia came to Republika Srpska to attend rallies and cast their votes on the direct instructions of the SNSD. He also said that Vučić secretly met with Dodik during the campaign break and used Serbian media to portray Dodik in a positive light.

“Even after publicly criticizing Dodik, Vučić organized support over the last ten days to secure his victory. This is pure election manipulation,” he said. According to him, voters with dual citizenship were organized and instructed to vote for Dodik. Multiple registrations at the same address indicated deliberate coordination of voting in border towns.

“Several thousand imported voters decided the outcome of the election, which was decided by a razor-thin margin,” he emphasized. Political scientist Velizar Antiq also confirmed electoral irregularities. He explained that although the number of imported voters may have been exaggerated, the elections were nevertheless marked by systematic irregularities.

“Even if the number of imported votes was minimal, the real problems lie in outdated voter lists, inflated turnout figures, and questionable vote counting. In some cities, turnout was over 80 percent, and Karan received 95 percent of the votes. That is manipulation, not just cross-border voting,” he explained./The Geopost/