Dodik votes in Laktasi, attacks new voting devices
The SNSD leader urged Serbs to turn out, called the purchase of new voting devices a racket and announced investigations. The same day, he also wrote about ties with Russia.
Milorad Dodik, president of the SNSD party, voted on Sunday, October 4, in the morning at the Cultural Center in Laktasi, in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s general elections. He told reporters that the election process had been stolen from Serbs, but that this should be a reason for everyone to go to the polls.
What did Dodik tell reporters in Laktasi?
Dodik said citizens should use the vote to push back against those who, as he put it, have tried through various schemes, such as rigged court cases, to change the will of the people. In his words, voters should show that the will of the people remains inseparably tied to Republika Srpska and to what he calls the essence of the Serb people. Voting had been announced for 10 a.m.
“It is a magnificent day for any people when it can choose, and so it is for us. Our election process was stolen from us by swindlers from Sarajevo, but that is a reason for Serb defiance to kick in and for everyone to come out and vote,” Dodik told reporters after voting.
He called on Serb voters to turn out, and spoke about the outcome as something that depends on participation:
“If the Serb people do not come out to vote, it plays into the hands of the Sarajevo swindlers who are trying to rig everything and build a unitary Bosnia and Herzegovina, and destroy Republika Srpska,” Dodik said.
Why does Dodik attack the new voting devices?
The procurement of new equipment took up most of his statement. This year’s elections are the first in Bosnia and Herzegovina to use biometric voter identification, ballot scanners and a system for rapid transmission of results. Speaking about the new election technology, Dodik noted that the OSCE had described earlier elections as fair.
“The racket was set up so that someone could make quick money on the new equipment, and there will be investigations into it. That money went to speculators. The order to pay out the money was given by the illegitimate High Representative, and that in itself is a criminal offense,” Dodik said.
The statements carried by news agencies and portals contain no figure for the money that allegedly ended up with speculators, no document he is relying on, and no word on who would conduct the investigations he announces. Dodik also added that, in his view, certain “international fixers” believe everything is permitted to them. Dodik calls the High Representative illegitimate.
We have written before about money in the election process: the campaign has so far cost 11.1 million KM, with the SNSD leading in spending.
What did Dodik write about Russia the same day?
On the social network X, Dodik also posted a message the same day about Republika Srpska’s foreign backing:
“Republika Srpska and the Russian Federation maintain friendly and partnership relations, which was confirmed during the most recent conversation with President Vladimir Putin,” Dodik wrote on X.
He added that he had spent the past week in Moscow, where he gave a lecture to students at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, better known by its acronym MGIMO. Dodik is the president of the SNSD, not the president of Republika Srpska, an office currently held by Sinisa Karan.
Who else voted, and how many voters are eligible?
There are 3,408,517 eligible voters. For voting outside Bosnia and Herzegovina, 48,078 voters are registered: 45,457 of them vote by mail, and 2,621 at 20 diplomatic and consular missions of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 13 countries.
According to the announced schedule for the day, several candidates were expected to vote in Banja Luka. Sinisa Karan, president of Republika Srpska, was announced for 9 a.m. at the “Aleksa Santic” primary school. Zeljka Cvijanovic, the SNSD candidate for the Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was announced for 10 a.m. at the Center for Hearing and Speech Rehabilitation in Paprikovac, and Branko Blanusa, the SDS candidate for president of Republika Srpska, for the same time at the “Branko Radicevic” primary school. For these three the only source is the schedule of events, so their voting is described as planned.
The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced a press conference at noon on turnout up to 11 a.m., a turnout statement at 4 p.m. and a press conference at 8 p.m., when the first preliminary results are expected.
