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Change Your Life! |
Autocrat purports to be democrat |
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July 28, 2000
BELGRADE (AP) - Slobodan Milosevic Thursday scheduled Yugoslavia's general elections for September 24, state Tanjug news agency reported, a major test of the president's strength after last year's NATO bombing campaign. Most of Serbia's opposition parties - except the largest Serbian Renewal Movement - have indicated they would participate in the vote despite recent changes of the constitution which clearly favor the regime. Milosevic apparently hopes to cement his 10-year autocratic rule in his power base of Serbia, which with small Montenegro forms Yugoslavia. In addition to the federal and local ballot, Milosevic also called for presidential elections. His current mandate expires in May 2001. It will be the first time that the Yugoslav president is elected by popular vote instead of by the federal parliament. On Monday, the Yugoslav parliament approved legislation Milosevic's own Cabinet wrote, giving him the option to run for two more four-year terms after his current one expires in July 2001. It also allows the president to be elected by a simple majority of the popular vote, regardless of election turnout. That's an important change in a country where opposition supporters are disheartened by a decade of Milosevic's autocratic rule and are likely to boycott the vote. Montenegro has said it will boycott any ballot called by Milosevic. It's pro-Western officials have said they would organize an independence referendum in case Milosevic tries to force the elections on Montenegro's territory. Serbia's pro-democracy movement hopes to win the vote by drawing up a joint list, creating a coalition that would back one candidate in each district and name one candidate for the presidency. Serbia's fledgling opposition parties have been criticized in the past for their inability to join forces in their struggle against Milosevic. Illustrating the ongoing rift within the opposition, the Serbian Renewal Movement said it will probably not take part in the vote, or if it participates will go it alone. Also, the party refuses to back a joint opposition presidential candidate. Opinion polls show Milosevic's popularity has dwindled since last year's NATO bombing of the country, which forced Yugoslav forces out of the southern Kosovo province. The polls also show that only the joint opposition block and their single candidate for the presidency could defeat Milosevic. "The presidential and federal vote is a much more complicated issue and I am very skeptical there," said opposition leader Vladan Batic. "Without Montenegro and the Serbian Renewal Movement it will be difficult," Batic told The Associated Press. "What is ahead of us now is to talk to Montenegro's leadership and the Serbian Renewal Movement and try hammer out a common stance for the presidential and federal elections," he said. In recent months, Milosevic has cracked down on opposition activists and media in an effort to retain control and win the vote. The opposition Democratic Alternative party issued a statement warning of unfair election conditions. "We are in a situation unparalleled even in the most primitive societies and the regime will resort to the business of rigging in the process ahead," the party's statement said. The constitutional changes involve the way Yugoslavs elect their president and legislators for the upper house of the Yugoslav parliament, the Chamber of Republics. Currently, separate assemblies in Montenegro and Serbia, each select 20 of the chamber's 40 deputies. Under the new system, the deputies will be elected by popular vote. That takes away the ability of the small Montenegrin republic's pro-Western government to control its representatives and will make it easier for Milosevic to push Montenegrin politicians that are loyal to him.
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