Sinisa Karan has been confirmed as the new president of Republika Srpska following a repeat early election held to replace the banned Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, according to final results.

The rerun vote was organized after parts of the November early elections were annulled due to reported irregularities. The Central Election Commission announced that, based on results from all polling stations, Karan secured 50.5 percent of the vote, while his main challenger, opposition-backed Branko Blanuša, received 48 percent.

In the initial November ballot, Karan, who was supported by Dodik and the ruling coalition, had narrowly won with 50.4 percent, compared with 48.2 percent for Blanuša. The slim margin, amounting to fewer than 10,000 votes, prompted opposition parties to accuse the authorities of electoral fraud, claiming that violations had influenced the outcome. These allegations ultimately led to the partial annulment and the February 8 rerun.

The repeat election was held in 136 out of 2,164 polling stations across Republika Srpska and involved more than 80,000 registered voters. With the process now completed, Karan is set to serve an eight-month mandate, as Bosnia and Herzegovina is scheduled to hold regular general elections in early October.

The earlier November elections were marked by particularly low participation, with turnout falling below 36 percent. They took place after Dodik, who had dominated Republika Srpska politics for nearly two decades, was removed from office in August.

His removal followed a conviction by a local court for defying decisions issued by Christian Schmidt, the international community’s high representative responsible for overseeing the Dayton peace agreement that ended the 1990s war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dodik was barred from holding public office for six years.

Initially, the 66-year-old politician rejected the ruling, triggering what observers described as one of the most serious political crises in the country since the 1992 to 1995 conflict. Known for his repeated separatist rhetoric, Dodik later accepted the verdict and allowed the early elections to proceed. Despite the ban, he continued to act as the dominant political figure in Republika Srpska.

In recent months, Dodik has remained active internationally. He visited Hungary, where he met Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and also traveled to the United States and Israel. In Israel, he received an award in the Knesset for his role in strengthening ties between Republika Srpska and Israel.

Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation together form Bosnia and Herzegovina under the post-war constitutional arrangement. The two entities operate with broad autonomy but are connected through a weak central state structure established after the war.