ŠOLAJA: NUMBER OF VOTES MINIĆ WON ARE ABOVE EVEN SNSD'S EXPECTATIONS

BANJA LUKA, OCTOBER 5 /SRNA/ - Political analyst Bojan Šolaja said that SNSD's electoral success had been expected, but that the number of votes won by its candidate for President of Republika Srpska, Savo Minić, was above expectations, including those of SNSD itself.

In a statement to SRNA, Šolaja said that the greatest political interest of the actors in Republika Srpska had been focused on the position of President of Republika Srpska, as this was the most important office in constitutional terms and the one that politically links everything else in Srpska. According to him, the election result was also influenced by the fact that continuity in government in Srpska had led to improvements in various areas, while economic growth had been recorded and foreign investment attracted. Šolaja noted that citizens had confirmed the legitimacy of the institutions of Republika Srpska in the election. He recalled that following the 2022 election, SNSD had needed to reaffirm its legitimacy, bearing in mind the recount of votes for President of Republika Srpska, as well as developments over the previous three years and international pressure. Speaking about the opposition in Republika Srpska, Šolaja assessed that its political activity over the past 20 years had largely consisted of pointing the finger at one person, instead of offering goals, solutions and plans. He said that, unlike the opposition, the ruling structures, alongside political continuity, had also offered new names and individuals from various fields for the most responsible positions. Šolaja does not expect major turbulence in the functioning of the authorities, saying that the ruling coalition will continue to operate based on previous agreements and the election result it achieved. He said he expected the political hand to be extended to all those willing to support the ruling coalition, given that one of SNSD's goals was unity in Republika Srpska regarding BiH.