{"text":[[{"start":7.65,"text":"Pro-Russia strongman Milorad Dodik claimed victory in elections in Bosnia, as he extended his influence in the troubled Balkan country despite recent efforts by the international community to sideline him."}],[{"start":20.8,"text":"Voters on Sunday selected candidates for three parliaments covering Bosnia’s two main entities — Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation — plus the state. They also selected a new three-member presidency for Bosnia and a new president for Republika Srpska."}],[{"start":38.55,"text":"Bosnia’s complex political system was designed to operate a multi-ethnic society after a bloody war in the 1990s following the break-up of Yugoslavia."}],[{"start":49.25,"text":"Dodik was forced out of the Republika Srpska presidency last year for failing to comply with the Dayton Peace Accord that established Bosnia’s postwar constitutional settlement."}],[{"start":60.3,"text":"But Dodik’s SNSD party, which favours Republika Srpska seceding from Bosnia, won in every race it entered in Sunday’s elections amid a low turnout."}],[{"start":71.2,"text":"The biggest question was whether voters in Republika Srpska continued to support Dodik, who has forged ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump while also eschewing the EU."}],[{"start":83.60000000000001,"text":"With most votes counted, the SNSD emerged as the largest party in the Republika Srpska parliament, as its candidate for the entity’s presidency also triumphed. The SNSD’s candidate for one of the three positions holding Bosnia’s presidency also won."}],[{"start":99.95000000000002,"text":"Dodik told supporters after the vote: “Thank you for the great victory. I declare that we have won for a member of the [Bosnian] presidency, for the president of [Republika Srpska].”"}],[{"start":110.80000000000001,"text":"He said his secessionist goals for Republika Srpska would not change. “No one should ask us to change our political position,” he added. “This is a pledge to the people, this is an oath to the people . . . and we will not abandon it.”"}],[{"start":125.00000000000001,"text":"Adi Ćerimagić, senior analyst at the European Stability Initiative, a think-tank in Berlin, said Dodik was the “winner” in the elections."}],[{"start":134.25,"text":"“Just a year ago he was on the sanctions lists of most western countries . . . and people thought he and his political project were politically dead."}],[{"start":143.5,"text":"“Now his party is the strongest in [Bosnia] . . . It will be a major test for the constitutional order in Bosnia and even for peace.”"}],[{"start":152.7,"text":"Dodik expressed thanks for the support of Putin, who hosted him in Moscow just days before Bosnia’s elections, and credited the US government with vital backing, including lifting sanctions, to keep his political career afloat."}],[{"start":166.45,"text":"“Had it not been for Donald Trump’s magnificent [election] victory . . . we would probably be political dead men today,” Dodik said. "}],[{"start":180.89999999999998,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1791164181_5840.mp3"}