Bosnia’s election commission has revoked the mandate of Milorad Dodik, the president of the country’s Serb-majority region, after he defied a court ruling sentencing him to one year in jail and banning him from holding political office.
The decision, announced Wednesday, will take effect after an appeal period expires. If upheld, a new presidential election in the Republika Srpska (RS) must be held within 90 days, commission official Suad Arnautovic said.
Dodik, a staunch nationalist and longtime advocate for RS secession, was convicted in February for obstructing the implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Accord by refusing to recognize rulings from Bosnia’s Constitutional Court and the international peace envoy. The court ruling bars him from public office for six years.
Despite the ban, Dodik has vowed to remain in office and rejected the decision as politically driven. He has pledged to seek support from Moscow and former U.S. President Donald Trump, and his SNSD party is pushing for a “national unity government.”
“Surrender is not an option,” Dodik wrote on X (formerly Twitter), following the commission’s decision issued in Sarajevo — a ruling unlikely to be enforced without RS cooperation.
Dodik’s lawyer confirmed plans to appeal the verdict at Bosnia’s Constitutional Court and request a suspension of the sentence during the appeal process. Backers of Dodik, including leaders in Russia, Serbia, and Hungary, have dismissed the court ruling as politically motivated.
Bosnia remains mired in its deepest political crisis since the 1992–1995 war, which killed over 100,000 people. Under the Dayton Accords, Bosnia was divided into two autonomous entities — the Serb-led Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation — governed by a fragile central government meant to maintain post-war unity.
Reuters/s.s