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Milosevic opponent Vojislav Kostunica casts his ballot on Sunday.
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By Cindy Lee
GUEST WRITER
A loud cheer rang through Serbia as the results of last Sunday’s elections in Yugoslavia were displayed on television. The Yugoslavian government announced that Vojislav Kostunica beat Slobodan Milosevic in a race for the presidency. According to the official results, Kostunica finished with 48.22 percent of the vote and Milosevic ended up with 40.23 percent.
Milosevic resisted worldwide appeals for him to step down. He announced that a second election will be held on October 8. According to Yugoslav law, a run-off election can be held if there is not a clear majority winner.
“We are talking about political fraud and blatant stealing of votes. This is an offer which must be rejected,” said Kostunica in response to the run-off election (The New York Times, Sept. 27, 2000). Kostunica is supported by the Democratic Opposition of Serbia. The opposition calculated that there was a 74 percent voter turnout on Sunday, which is higher than the state’s figure of 64 percent. As a result, they believe that Milosevic has somehow manipulated the results. According to their count, Kostunica won 54.6 percent of the vote compared to Milosevic at 35 percent.
Calvin political science professor Darren Walhof said, “It’s a he-said-she-said situation. Given Milosevic’s actions in the past it would not be surprising if the opposition is correct and Milosevic is lying.
“It is an interesting strategy. He is not claiming to win; he just wants another round. Going along with the run-off is in a way legitimizing Milosevic’s claims. But if you refuse to have a run-off you force him to make a more blatant move. It is in the opposition’s best interest to not let Milosevic get away with subtly manipulating the results.”
President Clinton said, “Despite the government’s attempt to manipulate the vote, it does seem clear that the people have voted for change. The question is, will the government listen in response?” (The New York Times, Sept. 27, 2000.)
Many citizens are fearful of a civil war due to Milosevic’s power and Kostunica’s support from the people. However, Kostunica said that although he will not give in to Milosevic’s demand, he will not do anything to instigate violence.
If the second election occurs, it would give Milosevic time to formulate a new approach. Milosevic’s actions are not unexpected, considering that he confidently called these elections nine months ago in order to prolong his thirteen-year reign. Surprisingly, Kostunica was able to unite the opposition parties and win the votes of the people. Now, both are waiting for the other to back down or make a mistake. |
