Alliance of Independent Social Democrats

In a bid to unify and strengthen the embattled opposition Bosnian Serb party after its defeat in recent local elections, an extraordinary assembly of the Serbian Democratic Party, SDS, on Sunday unanimously elected Vukota Govedarica as the new chief.

The Serbian member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, Mladen Ivanic, who comes from the Bosnian Serb opposition bloc, has dismissed reports that the bloc could break up following the defeat in recent local elections.

BELGRADE - The electoral will of the citizens must be respected and the democratic principles the work of institutions and the rule-of-law state rest upon must be preserved, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik agreed Thursday.

While the final results of Sunday's Bosnian local elections are still coming in, the party led by Milorad Dodik, President of Republika Srpska, appears to have emerged the biggest winner.

According to the preliminary results, Dodik's Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, SNSD, won more than 30 mayoral posts in Republika Srpska, 11 more than in the previous elections in 2012.

BELGRADE - Preliminary results from voting in Bosnia-Herzegovina show that nationalist parties are set to win many of the races for mayor and city council seats in the local elections held on October 2, RFE/RL reports.

Ahead of the announcement of the results in Bosnia's municipal elections on Sunday, the two main parties representing Bosniaks and Serbs claimed big victories.

BANJALUKA - Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik announced in Banjaluka Thursday there would be more referendums in the Bosnian Serb republic, noting that they would be conducted electronically to facilitate the process.

All those having a registered residence in Republika Srpska for six months will be eligible to vote in the referendums, he said.

BANJALUKA - Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik said in Banjaluka Tuesday he had still not received a summons for questioning by the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo over the Republika Srpska Day referendum, adding that, once he got one, he would obey it.

BANJALUKA - Sunday's referendum in Republika Srpska (RS) was about the RS Day, not about status, says RS President Milorad Dodik.

The RS will respond with referendums in situations where attempts are made to deprive it of its rights, Dodik said at a press conference in Banjaluka late Sunday, after which a reporter asked him whether a referendum on independence should be ruled out.

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Moscow late Thursday with Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, who said the meeting had been very successful and that Putin expressed support for stabilisation in the region.