Here are some news from both sides in the electoral
conflict. I was observing yesterday's meeting of the neoliberal opposition
formation with my anarchist friend from Germany, and it was well visited;
it is my impression that it couple of hundred thousand people were there;
Bregovic ( "Underground" movie if someone had watched it) was playing on a
concert which was a part of the opposition celebration.
My impression, based on facts presented by both
sides, and observations made by our anarchist network observers, is that
neoliberal opposition really won the elections ( presidential). Rumors
about Sainovic and Mira Markovic nervous breakdown are not serious and should be
considered as such- this is a part of opposition propaganda. Milosevic and his
gang are, on the other hand, trying to do the impossible: to manipulate with 600
000 votes; My guess is that M. has only one choice: to introduce open
dictatorship. People here, from opposition and people who are for SPS, are
talking about some barging and Milosevic asylum in Hong Kong where his son Marko
already is. I don't know, of course, is this speculation true. Frankly, I don't
believe it. From this point, general strike and mass civil disobedience seem to
be more than probable.
In Struggle,
Andrej
PS Wonderful news from Prague: great successes of anti
capitalist demonstrations. Recommended source:
http://praha.indymedia.org/
Holy Synod appeals to Kostunica
Holy
Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church on Thursday called "on Dr Vojislav
Kostunica, the elected Yugoslav president, and all his electees, to take over
the management of the state, its parliament and municipalities, in a peaceful
and dignified manner, just as the presidential, parliamentary and local
September 24 elections ended in a peaceful and dignified manner". The message
was signed by the President of the Holy Synod Patriarch Pavle, Fonet reported.
Sainovic wants to deal on second round: Vijesti ( Djukanovic
papers)
Podgorica daily Vijesti on Thursday wrote that the Socialist
senior official Nikola Sainovic on Wednesday once again wanted to strike a deal
with the opposition representatives on the second round of presidential
elections, but that such an offer was categorically refused. "Why don't you
agree? You will win the second round as well, and in the meantime, we will calm
down the people from the Yugoslav Left," Sainovic said, Vijesti reported,
quoting sources from the Democratic Opposition of Serbia headquarters. The paper
claims that Sainovic had tried to "acquire a time out for Milosevic" twice
already.
No second round: Batic ( demochristian party, right winger
from DOS)
"There is no second round," one of the Democratic
Opposition of Serbia leaders Vladan Batic said in a reaction to the Federal
Election Commission's decision. "To the well-intentioned warnings from the DOS,
the regime is responding with violence that has no legal foundation," Batic told
B2-92 and added, "This is a forgery of the citizens' election will. We cannot
accept a second round, because despite the fact that the elections were unfair
and undemocratic, we have participated in such elections and have won them. We
cannot bargain with these things, we are not on a cattle market but in a
history. People from that Commission could certainly find themselves accused
very soon, because they could be initiators of grave problems, conflicts,
violence, repression and terror. Therefore, there is no second round, there are
only calls on citizens to defend their political will. We will have to call on
citizens to demand recognition of their will and I don't see a force that can
oppose that," Batic said.
Election Commission confirms second round
The
Federal Election Commission has confirmed the final results of elections for the
president of Yugoslavia and ruled that a second round of voting will be held.
According to the final results from 10,673 polling stations, of a total of
7,249,831 registered voters, 5,053, 428, or 69.7 per cent, cast votes. The
Democratic Opposition of Serbia candidate, Vojislav Kostunica, received
2,474,392 votes or 48.96 per cent; Slobodan Milosevic 1,951,761 or 38.62 per
cent, Serbian Radical Party candidate Tomislav Nikolic received 292,759 or 5.79
per cent of votes, the Serbian Renewal Movement’s Vojislav Mihailovic 146,585 or
2.90 per cent and the remaining candidate, Miodrag Vidojkovic, 46,421 or 0.92
per cent. The Commission announced that no objections had been lodged with
regard to the presidential election and that a second round would be held on
October 8.
The meeting of the Commission at which the final results of the presidential
elections were announced was held at about midnight last night, Radio B2-92
learnt from the Democratic Opposition of Serbia’s representative on the
Commission, Sinisa Nikolic. Nikolic told B2-92 that a meeting had originally
been scheduled for 8.00 p.m. but Commission members were told that the
chairman’s wife had been taken ill. The chairman eventually appeared at the
meeting at about 11.30 p.m., shortly after the opposition rally on Republic
Square ended, carrying a single sheet of A4 paper on which were data from the
Federal Bureau of Statistics. The paper did not carry the signature of the
Institute’s director. The Bureau noted that the final results showed 600,000
less voters than the figure announced by the Commission prior to the elections.
Nikolic said that the Bureau also noted that about three hundred local election
commissions had not presented documentation and so the number of voters had been
reduced accordingly.
