BALKAN

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA: SNSD Declares Karan’s Victory Based on 93%, Blanuša Dominant in Banja Luka

by Antonije Kovačević23. November 2025.23. November 2025.

2,211 polling stations for the snap presidential elections in the Republic of Srpska (RS) closed at 7 p.m., where 1,264,364 voters were eligible to cast a ballot.

Around 9:30 p.m., the SNSD declared victory based on 92.93 percent of the processed electoral material.

“93 percent of polling stations have been processed. Siniša Karan’s lead is approximately 6,500 votes,” stated the SNSD.

They announced that Milorad Dodik, as the party president, would address the public at 10 p.m. to declare the victory of candidate Siniša Karan.

At the same time, the SDS stated that Branko Blanuša had won in Banja Luka.

“With a current difference of over 13,000 votes, Prof. Dr. Branko Blanuša has secured a dominant victory in Banja Luka,” announced Draško Stanivuković, who stated that this proved “that their city remains a bastion of the opposition struggle, the strongest driver of change, and an unconquerable fortress for the SNSD!”

According to data from the Central Election Commission (CEC) of BiH, 443,472 voters cast ballots in the RS presidential elections today, representing a turnout of 35.78 percent. For comparison, the turnout in the 2022 General Elections in the RS was about 53 percent.

The CEC announced that the first preliminary results would be published at 11 p.m.

Contradictory Claims from Parties

SNSD Claims:

The SNSD maintains that their candidate Karan is leading by 6,500 votes with 93 percent of the polling stations processed.
The SNSD declared victory in Brod and Doboj, marking the party’s first victory in Brod since 2010, as reported by N1 Sarajevo.

SDS Claims:

The SDS party announced that their presidential candidate, Branko Blanuša, is leading by 17,000 votes across 11 local self-government units.
Želimir Nešković said that “the trend is extremely good for our candidate and we are optimistic,” adding that “only a miracle” could change the results so they would not be in Blanuša’s favor.

SNSD Response:

The SNSD says this is a “tried and tested manner of the opposition,” alleging that they are only naming locations where they know they will get a majority, and that Siniša Karan is “the winner by the will of the citizens.”
SNSD spokesman Radovan Kovačević addressed the media from the party’s election headquarters. He expressed confidence that victory would be declared very soon. He thanked everyone who voted, and even those who did not, adding that they had “understood the situation in a specific way.”