According to the latest poll of the Századvég Foundation, Milorad Dodik, the president of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, has a significant advantage in the campaign leading up to the presidential elections to be held in the Republika Srpska next Sunday.
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik may once again win the presidency, at least this is what the representative survey of the Századvég Foundation reveals. As can be seen from the figures, when asked which candidate they would choose ’if the presidential elections were held today’, 44.1 per cent of those polled said they would vote for Milorad Dodik, while his opponent, Jelena Trivic, would receive only 32.1 per cent of the votes. By contrast, Radislav Jovicic would only garner 4.1 per cent.
Interestingly enough, voters would give Dodik an even higher proportion of their support if they could only choose between him and Trivić. According to the survey, Dodik would get 46.1 per cent, whereas Trivic only 35.2 per cent.
The research also found that if the parliamentary elections were also held on the day of the poll, the above-mentioned preferences could also be projected onto the party competition: while the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats would receive 41.4 per cent, the PDP, Trivić’s party, would get only 16.5 per cent.
The strong support behind Dodik is perhaps not surprising in light of the survey data showing that voters consider the former president’s national commitment, ability and experience, as well as his excellent leadership skills and charisma, to be his main strengths. On the other hand, in relation to his opponent, Jelena Trivić, voters primarily object to her lack of ability, and on top of that, her manner and arrogance were named as her second most unpopular personality trait.
The Századvég Foundation’s research also mapped respondents’ willingness to vote. About 78 per cent of those polled said that it is likely that they would participate in the upcoming elections, while only 19.7 per cent of respondents said that they would probably not vote.
