STORY: Tens of thousands of people gathered in Banja Luka in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday evening to demonstrate against an ordered recount in Republika Srpska. According to the preliminary result, the Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik won the election in early October ahead of the opposition candidate Jelena Trivic. However, both claim victory for themselves. The opposition accuses Serbian nationalist hardliner Dodik, who is also considered a confidante of Russian President Vladimir Putin, of manipulating the vote. After violent protests, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina ordered a recount. However, Dodik’s supporters vehemently reject this.