Pro-Russian politician Milorad Dodik, who supported Putin's war in Ukraine, is leading in the presidential election of the Republika Srpska, a state education system in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This is evidenced by the result of counting 82% of voters' votes, published by the CEC.
Milorad Dodik, who seeks the exit of the Republika Srpska from Bosnia and Herzegovina, received 48.8% of the votes, and his opponent Olena Trivić - 42.6%. The difference between the support of the candidates is about 30,000 votes.
Dodik is an open supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin and flew to Moscow to meet with him on the eve of the election.
In particular, he promised to "respect" the results of Putin's pseudo-referendums in Ukraine.
Dodik also supported Russia's war against Ukraine and Russian propaganda about it.
The elections in Bosnia come amid the country's worst political crisis since the end of the war in the 1990s, fueled by the separatist policies of the Republika Srpska leadership and threats of a blockade by Bosnian Croats.
According to the results of the elections, Dodik's associate Želka Tsvijanović will represent Bosnian Serbs in the Presidium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a collective body of power similar to the position of the head of state in Bosnia.