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Republika Srpska to hold presidential election in 2026 despite CEC decision

Earlier, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced that an early presidential election in Republika Srpska will be held on November 2

BELGRADE, August 28. /TASS/. The next presidential election in Republika Srpska (one of the two constituent entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH) will be held as scheduled next year, spokesman for the ruling Alliance of Independent Social Democrats Radovan Kovacevic said, commenting on the Central Election Commission’s decision on holding a snap presidential election in the entity on November 23 of this year.

"A referendum will be held in Republika Srpska, while the [presidential] election is slated for next year," Radio Television of Republika Srpska quoted him as saying.

Earlier today, the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced that an early presidential election in Republika Srpska will be held on November 23. This decision followed the August 6 announcement of the termination of Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik’s authority, due to the verdict by the BiH Appellate Court which upheld his earlier sentence of a year in prison and a six-year ban on political activity for ignoring the decisions of High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt. Later, the jail sentence was replaced with a fine. In response, Dodik announced the holding of a referendum of confidence in the leadership of Republika Srpska on October 25.

According to the constitution proposed in the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Dayton Agreement), BiH consists of two entities: the Muslim-Croatian Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (about 51% of the territory of BiH) and Republika Srpska (about 49% of the territory), as well as the Brcko District. Three main peoples are proportionally represented in the public administration system: Bosniaks (the Slavs who converted to Islam), Serbs (Orthodox) and Croats (Catholics).

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