BOSNIA: The politician who dominated the election never appeared on the ballot itself. 👇
Milorad Dodik, a staunchly pro-Russia Bosnian Serb nationalist, declared his party won despite staying off the ballot.
He spent the campaign inflaming ethnic divisions that date back to the 1990s war while Bosnia weighs EU membership.
Economic pressure and EU ambitions collide with nationalist power plays that could fracture the country further.
Would you trust an election shaped by someone not even running?
◆ Why it matters
Dodik controls the outcome without appearing on paper, a technique that insulates him from direct accountability while his party advances the pro-Russia, anti-EU line. Bosnia’s ethnic fault lines remain live, and this result pushes the Serb-majority region closer to Moscow while the rest of the country tries to move toward Brussels. The EU now faces a member applicant whose most powerful actor in one region actively works against integration.
Source: Guardian World