An ally of separatist Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik on Sunday was leading the presidential election in the Serb-run half of Bosnia. Preliminary results released by the Bosnian election authorities after some 92% of the ballots were counted showed that Dodik's ally Sinisa Karan won around 50% of the votes while opposition candidate Branko Blanusa had around 47%. The snap vote on Sunday in Republika Srpska was held after Dodik was removed from the presidential office over separatist policies that were stoking instability in the ethnically tense Balkan nation.
