[ALST-L] Election Watch Summary 29 September 2000

[info at balkan-info.net]

The following is a summary of international news and information related to elections in Southeast Europe and carried on the Balkan Information Exchange Web site.  For the full story, and complete election coverage, click here: http://www.balkan-info.com.

Dateline: Belgrade
Source: Reuters
28/09/00

SESELJ SUPPORTS KOSTUNICA, CALLS FOR MINISTER TO RESIGN
Serbian Radical Party (SRS) leader Vojislav Seselj, Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister and traditional supporter of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, declared opposition leader Vojislav Kostunica victorious in Yugoslavia’s 24 September presidential elections, Reuters reported.  “We shall not take part in the second round.  We’ll go to the Constitutional Court with proof of election fraud,” Seselj said, according to Reuters.  Seselj also called for the resignation of Serbian Interior Minister Vlajko Stojiljkovic, an ally of Milosevic, for the misuse of the police during the election campaign.

Dateline:  Belgrade
Source:  Reuters
28/09/00

SERBIAN OPPOSITION CALLS FOR FIVE DAYS OF PROTESTS
Serbia’s opposition called for five days of non-violent protests against the continued rule of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, Reuters reported.  Zoran Djindjic, co-ordinator of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia made the announcement at a rally in central Belgrade.  “Cinemas will close down, theatres will close down.  We want to finish the job in five days…We will stay here until he leaves, five days and five nights if need be, and then let the whole world watch what one man is doing to his people,” Djindjic said, according to Reuters.  


Dateline:  Moscow
Source:  Agence France Presse (AFP), Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA)
28/09/00

EUROPE, RUSSIA, U.S. SHARE SIMILAR VIEWS ON YUGOSLAVIA 
Europe, Russia and the United States hold similar positions on Yugoslavia, French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said following a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, AFP reported.  “As for the Russians, they are not at all accommodating the Milosevic regime,” Vedrine said following the meeting, according to AFP.  Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov stated that Russia is firmly against any “internal or external pressure” on the outcome of Yugoslavia’s presidential elections, calling the polls an “internal affair,” DPA reported.  


Dateline:  Podgorica
Source:  Agence France Presse (AFP), Associated Press (AP)
28/09/00

MONTENEGRO: KOSTUNICA VICTORIOUS IN ELECTION
Montenegro said it recognises Democratic Opposition of Serbia candidate Vojislav Kostunica as the winner in the 24 September Yugoslav presidential elections, AFP reported.  “The elections are finished as far as we are concerned,” Montenegrin Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic said, according to AP.  “The will of the people cannot be manipulated,” he added.  


Dateline: Belgrade
Source: Associated Press (AP)
28/09/00

MILOSEVIC TO PARTICPATE IN RUNOFF VOTE
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic confirmed his participation in a presidential runoff election on 8 October, AP reported.  “The presidential elections will go into the second round.  We will do our best so that our candidate wins,” Milosevic aide Nikola Sainovic said, according to AP.  Opposition candidate Vojislav Kostunica has announced he will not participate in a runoff, claiming he won the election outright.  


Dateline:  Belgrade
Source: Agence France Presse (AFP)
28/09/00

SPS AND ALLIES WIN PARLIAMENTARY MAJORITY
Yugoslavia’s election commission announced that the coalition consisting of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic’s Social Party of Serbia (SPS), Yugoslav Left (JUL) and Socialist People’s Party (SNP) won a majority of the seats in parliament, AFP reported.  Although the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) secured 55 of the 138 seats in the lower chamber of parliament, the SPS and JUL accounted for 46 seats and the SNP won 28 seats.  The DOS won 10 of 20 Serbian mandates in the upper chamber of parliament, but the pro-Milosevic SNP won 19 of the Montenegrin mandates.


Dateline: Bucharest
Source: Reuters
28/09/00

ROMANIA, BULGARIA URGE MILOSEVIC TO STEP DOWN
Romanian and Bulgarian leaders urged Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to respect the wishes of the Yugoslav population and step down from his post, Reuters reported.  “The two prime ministers request the powers in Belgrade to consider the Serb population’s wish for a democratic change.  With their vote, the Serb population showed Milosevic that he no longer represents them,” Romanian Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu said in a statement, according to Reuters.  Isarescu released the statement following a meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart Ivan Kostov.


Dateline: Tirana
Source: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA), Radio Tirana
28/09/00

ALBANIAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR PEACEFUL VOTE
Albanian President Rexhep Meidani called on Albanians to vote peacefully in the 1 October local elections, DPA reported.  “Our free vote is important to let the world know that we have a consolidated democracy in Albania and that we are a civilised European nation,” Meidani said, according to DPA.  Albanian army units have secured government buildings, public radio and television stations, and courts in Tirana, DPA reported, citing Radio Tirana.  


Dateline:  Belgrade
Source:  Reuters, Beta
29/09/00

SERB OPPOSITION SENDS ELECTION DOCUMENTS TO RUSSIA, REISSUES VOTE TALLY
Serbian opposition leaders announced they have sent documents to Russia proving their first-round presidential victory over the incumbent Slobodan Milosevic, Reuters reported.  ``Russia's role in the Yugoslav crisis could be a major one ... DOS (Democratic Opposition of Serbia) expects President Vladimir Putin to support the principle of respecting the elections,” DOS spokesman Cedomir Jovanovic told Beta.  The opposition released new election figures on 28 September, giving DOS presidential candidate Vojislav Kostunica 51.34 percent to Milosevic’s 36.22 percent, a smaller margin than it had reported previously.   


Dateline:  Belgrade
Source:  Agence France Presse (AFP), Beta
29/09/00

MILORAD MANDIC URGES MILOSEVIC TO ACCEPT DEFEAT
Milorad Mandic, a well known Serbian actor and member of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic’s Socialist Party, urged the incumbent to accept defeat, AFP reported, citing Beta.  “We have lost the elections, do not let us lose our honour,” Mandic said in a statement, according to Beta.  “For a true Socialist, there is no second or any other round,” Mandic continued.  



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