SOCIALIST LABOUR PARTY ====================== YUGOSLAV ELECTIONS - A LESSON IN OUTSIDE INTERFERENCE At the invitation of the Socialist Party of Serbia, Britain's Socialist Labour Party sent a three-person delegation to participate in international monitoring of the Yugoslav elections held on 24 September. We were the only British representatives among 250 observers invited from around the world. Our delegation travelled extensively throughout the country, was able to talk to officials and voters and visited numerous polling stations, gaining first-hand experience of what was actually taking place during an election which was being misreported in many parts of the world. >From what we saw, the Federal Electoral Commission, an elected all-party body, did everything in its power to ensure that people were able to cast their votes without intimidation and in an orderly manner - and certainly in accordance with procedures which we would expect in a democratic, free election. In Serbia, we visited the Muslim areas of Kraljevo and Novi Pazar as well as observing polling in the capital, Belgrade. It was only in Montenegro that we observed the following irregularities: the so-called Democratic Opposition which boycotted the elections in Montenegro nevertheless gathered outside polling stations there in clear violation of election procedures, using intimidating behaviour towards prospective voters; we received many first-hand reports from people who stated they had been threatened with the loss of their jobs if they turned out to vote; we were in no doubt that countless refugees from Kosovo had been deliberately excluded from the electoral lists in Montenegro despite the fact that their identity cards, issued in 1999, gave them the right to vote, and were thus also prevented from voting. We could only conclude that these tactics of intimidation and disenfranchisement were designed to benefit the so-called Democratic Opposition. We were also appalled at the blatant outside interference in the procedures from Western governments which are obviously seeking to influence the outcome of these elections by promising economic aid and the lifting of sanctions if the Yugoslav people vote in accordance with the wishes of these governments and the European Union. Mick Appleyard Liz Screen Ian Johnson
