Siniša Karan, the candidate of the ruling Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), claimed victory on Sunday in the race for president of Republika Srpska, citing preliminary party data, local broadcaster N1 reported.
According to figures released by SNSD after processing 95.61% of polling stations, Karan was leading by about 8,500 votes over his main challenger Branko Blanuša of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS). The results are internal party counts and not official tallies from Bosnia’s Central Election Commission.
Karan entered the race after Milorad Dodik, the entity’s president and SNSD leader, was barred from running and holding public office for violating decisions of the international High Representative, Christian Schmidt.
In Banja Luka, Republika Srpska’s largest city, Blanuša won by roughly 13,000 votes, adding uncertainty to the competing narratives of both parties. Earlier, SDS said that “only a miracle could change the picture,” expressing confidence in its candidate’s victory. SNSD officials, meanwhile, said turnout was lower than expected among their core voters.
Who is Siniša Karan?
Karan currently serves as Republika Srpska’s minister for scientific and technological development and higher education in a government whose legality has been questioned due to the appointment process of Prime Minister Savo Minić.
Born in 1962 in Grabovac, Karan completed his primary and secondary education in Kupres. He graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences in Sarajevo, earned a master’s degree from the Law Faculty in Banja Luka, and received a doctorate in legal sciences in 2009.
A professor of state and legal theory at Paneuropean University Apeiron and the Independent University Banja Luka, he has authored multiple textbooks and more than 30 academic papers.
Karan built his career in security and public administration, holding senior posts in the Republika Srpska Interior Ministry, the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), and the office of the RS president. He served a decade as secretary general to the president, became RS’s arbiter in the Brčko boundary dispute in 2016, and later chaired the Council for the Protection of the Constitutional Order. In 2019 he was appointed secretary general of the RS government and went on to serve as interior minister.
Official election results are expected after 23:00 local time, when the Central Election Commission begins its public count.