Bosnian Serb Opposition Loses Key Stronghold

The Serbian Democratic Party, the main opposition party in Republika Srpska, has lost control of the key bastion of Bijeljina following a controversial session of the town council.

After a meeting marked by interruptions, insults and mutual accusations, the town in the northeast corner of Bosnia's Serb-dominated entity got a new ruling coalition led by the ruling Bosnian Serb party, the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, SNSD, and its ally, the Democratic Peoples Alliance, DNS.

This means the SDS has lost its main stronghold, which it has ruled since Bosnia's first multi-party elections since World War II, in 1990.

The loss of power was an ominous sign for the SDS-led opposition bloc, which was hoping to use the upcoming local elections on October 2 to take control of as many municipalities in Republika Srpska as possible.

That was supposed to lay the ground for victory over the SNSD in the next general elections in Bosnia in 2018.

However, polls in recent months showed that the SNSD still had an edge over the SDS, despite dissatisfaction with the weak results and corruption of the SNSD-led government.

The SNSD has also proved to adept at winning over members of city councils and of the entity parliament from the SDS, which was how the SNSD wrestled control over Bijeljina from the SDS.

In March, one of the town's leading SDS officials, Mladen Maksimovic, left the party, unhappy with the SDS's support for the candidacy of Mico Micic, who was SDS mayor of Bijeljina for the past 15 years.

When Maksimovic then announced his own candidacy, he was immediately endorsed by the SNSD and the DNS.

Micic showed a brave face, especially after Ivan Buric, a member of the SNSD on Bijeljina council switched sides and...