Fears of flare up in ethnic tensions in Bosnia as separatist Serb elected
The election of Bosnian Serb strongman Milorad Dodik could enflame ethnic tensions and threaten Bosnia's EU bid.
Monday 8 October 2018 17:04, UK
A right-wing, pro-Russian nationalist Serb who has sworn to work "only for the interests of Serbs" has won a third of Bosnia's co-presidency.
The election of Bosnian Serb strongman Milorad Dodik casts concern over the stability of the region, which saw 100,000 people die during its ethnic war in the 1990s.
If preliminary results are confirmed, Bosnia's bid to join the European Union could also be stalled and, as Mr Dodik is a close ally of Vladimir Putin, could give Russia a tighter grip on the Balkans.
When the Bosnian war ended in 1995, an unusual and complicated system of governance was set up in a bid to maintain peace.
The country is divided between a Serbian autonomous region - Republika Srpska - and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, essentially a Croat-Muslim federation.
The presidency of the country is split into three and shared between a Croat, a Serb and a Muslim, with one of the co-presidents spending eight months at a time as chairman.
Mr Dodik has campaigned for years for Republika Srpska to separate from Bosnia and Herzegovina and to merge with Serbia. He claims the current system is a "failed concept" which he could not "pretend to support".
"It's a clear cut victory," Mr. Dodik, 59, said in Banja Luka, the capital of Republika Srpska.
"I don’t care who the other two representatives in the presidency are. I am going there, to this presidency, to work above all and only for the interests of Serbs."
Mr Dodik, who has previously served as prime minister and then president of Republika Srpska, has routinely threatened to call a vote on the independence of the Serb enclave.
He also spoke out to defend Serbian military chief Ratko Mladic, known as the Butcher of Bosnia, ahead of his genocide trial.
"Whatever the verdict... Ratko Mladic remains a legend of the Serbian people," Mr Dodik said.
Mr Dodik's co-presidents are more moderate.
Croat Zeljko Komsic fought off right-wing nationalist rival Dragan Covic, 62, while conservative Sefik Dzaferovic, 61, won the Bosnian Muslim seat.
As the preliminary results emerged, Mr Dzaferovic urged "everyone to respect" the constitution.
Defeated Mr Covic, who is friendly with Russia, had been seeking to establish a Croat-only entity in Bosnia.
Around 1.7 million voters took part in the presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday - just over half of Bosnia's 3.3 million eligible voters.
As well as having three co-presidents who lead for four years, Bosnia has three parliaments, numerous prime ministers and local governments.
The parliamentary results will be announced later on Monday.