[ALBSA-Info] Part Of Yugoslav Elections Annulled

[Gazhebo at aol.com]

Part Of Yugoslav Elections Annulled

By JOVANA GEC

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) - In an apparent attempt to buy time for Slobodan 
Milosevic, Yugoslavia's highest court invalidated parts of the presidential 
election on Wednesday after thousands of opposition supporters forced police 
to back off from seizing a strikebound mine. 

The constitutional court ruling, reported by the state news agency Tanjug, 
came in a case brought by the opposition - which sought to have Vojislav 
Kostunica declared the winner of last month's election. 

Instead, the court, dominated by loyal Milosevic supporters, annulled 
``parts'' of the election, the agency said, adding details of the ruling 
would be made public Thursday. If the presidential vote - or even parts of it 
- must be repeated, it means Milosevic retains power longer. 

``At first this may seem like a concession by Slobodan Milosevic, but I'm 
afraid this is a big trap,'' Kostunica said. ``In any case, I believe 
Milosevic is weaker than ever before, which is clear from the fact that he 
has to do various tricks to gain time.'' 

The announcement was issued after a stunning and swift turn of events at the 
strikebound Kolubara mine, the largest of the protests that the opposition 
launched to force Milosevic to accept defeat. 

It began with riot police swooping down on the compound. But they were forced 
to back off when 10,000 townspeople swarmed to the complex ``defend'' the 
strikers. The turnout gave opposition forces hope that the Milosevic regime 
was mortally wounded. 

``The battle for Serbia was won here,'' cried one jubilant opposition leader, 
Dragan Kovacevic. The independent Beta news agency reported police left the 
compound late Wednesday. 

The confrontation at Kolubara, one of the country's major mines with 7,000 
workers, was unprecedented in Yugoslavia, a former communist nation with no 
history of major worker uprisings. It dramatically illustrated the commitment 
of those seeking to topple Milosevic's regime. 

It caught even top opposition figures off guard. They rushed to join more 
than 10,000 protesters at the mine and predicted Milosevic's quick demise. 

The independent Beta news agency reported police left the compound late 
Wednesday. But Sinisa Savkovic, a miner reached early Friday, said that 2,000 
to 3,000 police remained, mingling with miners. 

The atmosphere at the mine was relaxed, Savkovic said by telephone, with the 
police ``doing their job only when their bosses come around.'' He added, 
`They come to us, and we talk.'' 

The court announcement was made on the eve of a planned mass rally in 
Belgrade that the opposition hoped would force Milosevic to concede defeat, 
and opposition leaders saw the ruling as a desperate attempt to undercut 
their campaign. 

Milosevic acknowledges Kostunica finished first in a five-candidate field on 
Sept. 24 but without a majority needed to avoid a runoff Sunday. The 
opposition has rejected a runoff. 

``He saw that he cannot push through the second round against the majority of 
the people,'' opposition campaign manager Zoran Djindjic told reporters. 
``His solution is ... to create a new situation for totally new elections... 
(so) he can stay in power for two or three more months and then try to 
organize new elections.'' 

Opposition official Goran Svilanovic said he believes the opposition will 
also not agree to take part in a rerun of the first round. 

``We have our elected president,'' he said. ``These are things we can 
discuss, but my initial reaction is that there can be no bargaining.'' 

The opposition, challenging the official findings of the Federal Electoral 
Commission, went to Yugoslavia's highest court earlier Wednesday, appealing 
to the justices to grant them victory in the presidential elections. 

The court met in emergency session Wednesday to hear complaints by the 
18-party opposition coalition, maintaining Milosevic's supporters manipulated 
election results by using a sophisticated software program. 

Opposition leaders said they had obtained a copy of the program and would use 
it to illustrate how the vote was rigged to favor Milosevic's candidacy. 

In advance of Thursday's rally, opposition leaders issued an ``ultimatum'' 
for Milosevic to resign by 3 p.m. (9 a.m. EDT) Thursday - the time set for 
the Belgrade demonstration. 

``This flame will engulf the whole of Belgrade,'' said Vladan Batic, an 
opposition leader. 

In an open letter Wednesday to Milosevic before the court's ruling, Kostunica 
said ``it will be better for you to recognize'' electoral defeat or risk 
``the danger of open clashes'' nationwide. 

>From the beginning of the civil disobedience campaign launched this week to 
force Milosevic to concede defeat in the election, the mine was a pivotal 
point. It employs 7,000 workers and supplies major power plants. 

On Tuesday, the Milosevic government had threatened ``special measures'' 
against leaders of strikes and road blockades, and Belgrade's prosecutor 
issued arrest orders for 13 opposition leaders involved in organizing the 
walkout at the Kolubara mine. None of the arrests has been carried out. 

The mine walkout was the forerunner of other strikes: the state 
telecommunications company workers announced they would stay off the job and 
city bus drivers and garbage collectors in Belgrade refused to work. 

``This is (Milosevic's) end,'' said a Kolubara mine worker, Dragan 
Stamenkovic. ``Now the workers have risen.'' 

Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic, meanwhile, repeated the position that 
regardless of the election outcome, Milosevic can remain in office until his 
current term expires in June. 

There were also signs that Milosevic's control over the media, until now the 
principal propaganda pillar of his regime, was fraying. 

The main state-run daily in the northern province of Vojvodina declared 
Wednesday that its editorial policy would switch from following the 
government line to reporting on events objectively. Its Wednesday edition for 
the first time carried numerous reports on opposition activities.