The political landscape of the Western Balkans took a dramatic turn this week as Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Central Election Commission (CEC) reportedly moved to revoke the mandate of Milorad Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska, the Serb-majority entity within Bosnia. The decision, reported by the Sarajevo-based daily Dnevni Avaz, marks a significant escalation in the long-running standoff between Dodik and the Bosnian state apparatus, and is poised to inflame already simmering ethnic and political tensions in the deeply divided country.

The CEC’s unanimous decision, if upheld, would effectively remove Dodik from power and potentially trigger early elections in Republika Srpska within 90 days. Dodik, however, retains the right to appeal the ruling, and early signals suggest he has no intention of quietly stepping aside.

Writing defiantly on social media platform X, the embattled Serb leader dismissed the ruling as “crap from Sarajevo” and provocatively asked, “What if I refuse?”-a rhetorical challenge that reflects his longstanding opposition to the centralized authority of the Bosnian state and the international structures that sustain it.

The CEC’s action follows a February court decision that sentenced Dodik to one year in prison and imposed a six-year ban from political office. The charges stemmed from his alleged refusal to implement decisions made by Christian Schmidt, the international high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Schmidt, a German national appointed by the international........

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