KOVAČEVIĆ: GREAT VICTORY FOR SERB PEOPLE, SRPSKA, BUT ALSO FOR DODIK AND SNSD; SCHMIDT, SARAJEVO AND OPPOSITION DEFEATED

BANJA LUKA, FEBRUARY 11 /SRNA/ – The result of the repeat presidential elections in Republika Srpska is a great victory for the Serb people and Republika Srpska, as well as for Milorad Dodik and SNSD, said SNSD spokesperson Radovan Kovačević.

"It is clear that Dodik was the primary target of Schmidt's attack, while Republika Srpska was the ultimate one," Kovačević emphasized at a press conference. He stressed that the goal was to prove that the Serb people has not got the capacity of a political nation, that something called popular sovereignty does not exist, and that the people are not the ones who decide for themselves. "We defeated them all on Sunday. We defended Serb people's sovereignty," Kovačević said. Kovačević noted that not a single appeal or objection was filed to the Central Election Commission /CEC/ over the repeat elections. He emphasized that this is a major, final defeat for both Christian Schmidt and Sarajevo in their intent to oppress and subjugate Republika Srpska, as well as a final defeat for the opposition in Republika Srpska, which was ready to assist those who wished Republika Srpska defeated. "That is why they were defeated; the people of Republika Srpska understood that. We defended the sovereignty of the Serb people and finally reached a position where Republika Srpska can launch a political offensive," Kovačević stressed. He recalled that since the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, Republika Srpska had been in a defensive position. “We were constantly under attack. We finally defended ourselves on Sunday so that Republika Srpska can move into a political offensive and say what it wants and what it seeks,” Kovačević said. He emphasized that Srpska wants to return to the original Dayton Accords, or it will seek other forms and models for the future. "We will not wait long," Kovačević said. When it comes to the electoral results, Kovačević stated that the SNSD and coalition parties’ candidate Siniša Karan won in 16 out of 17 local communities, at 134 out of a total of 136 polling stations where the repeat elections took place. He added that in 12 out of 17 local communities, Karan received more votes than in November last year, as well as in Zvornik, Laktaši, Doboj, and Bratunac, where the elections had been annulled at the largest number of polling stations; he now got more votes in all four of those local communities. He also emphasized that Karan lost in Banja Luka, Brčko, Bileća, Stanari, and Gacko in the November elections, at the polling stations where voting was now repeated, but he has now won in those places. He also mentioned the success of overturning the result in Karan’s favour at two polling stations where elections were repeated in Prijedor. "The fact that Karan received over 70 percent of the vote shows how serious a triumph this is," Kovačević said. He emphasized that the opposition behaved like hooligans, presenting themselves as champions while wanting to exercise power without public support. He pointed out that they insulted ordinary people, families, and people who came to polling stations with children, calling them criminals and thieves, attempting to provoke incidents and physical clashes at most polling stations, photographing people and falsely accusing them. "The entire opposition from across Republika Srpska came to four local communities – Doboj, Zvornik, Laktaši, and Bratunac – and tried to engineer a turnaround in those four local communities, but suffered even more convincing defeat than in November," Kovačević said. He stressed that they had finally defeated their lies and nonsense about someone manipulating the elections. "It will not be enough for us just to defeat you, we will be defeating you every time," Kovačević said. He emphasized that the opposition did not have enough maturity or capacity to admit defeat but instead blamed the people, recalling statements by Nebojša Vukanović, Milan Miličević, and Ognjen Bodiroga. He explained that this is their attitude toward the people because the people do not want them. "It seems they prefer the people in Sarajevo, which is why this people here do not want them, and we clearly recognize that," Kovačević said, adding that prominent opposition figure Draško Stanivuković had not spoken out, and asked why he is silent?