ELECTION IN SERBIA

AIM, BEOGRAD, 19.12

According to the first unofficial results of the election in Serbia, coming from party sousrces, the ruling party SPS got more votes than any other single party. Uncomplete results from election constituences show that SPS got support from about 30 percent voters. However it is closely followed by the major opposition coalition DEPOS (about 25 percent) which is leading in some parts of the country, especially in Belgrade. The extremist nationalist Serbian Radical Party (SRS) got less votes than in the previous election while Democratic Party, positioned in the centre, higly raised on the party list (10-12 %). The newly invented satellite of SPS - Party of Serbian Unity in majority of constituences did not overcome the census line of 5 percent.

Voters in Serbia casted their ballots today choosing among 38 parties, 7 coalitions and 39 groups of citizens running for 250 parliamentary seats. According to unofficial reports, 60-75 percent of 7 million voters in 9 election constituences used the opportunity to vote. The lowest turn-over was recorded in Kosovo, due to the boykott of the election by ethnic Albanians.

The voting was completed in tolerant atmosphere and no major objections were raised by election controlling bodies, consisting of representatives of all contesting parties. The final election results will be known on Wednesday.

This is a second pre-time election, taking place after political plurlism was introduced in Serbia. It was provoked by the decision of the Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic to dismiss the Parliament, elected last December, after Serbian Radical Party (SRS) - last year's unofficial ally of Socialist Party of Serbia - had demanded a no-confidence vote for the socialist government. The government was accused of leading unappropriate economic and social policy of Serbia under UN sanctions and drastically deteorating the living standard of population.

The election took place in a catastropcih economic situation in Serbia, characterized by almost 30 percent DAILY inflation rate, average pensions and salaries of 5-15 DM, lack of food, medicines and heating and complete monetary chaos. In a 6-week campaign, the ruling party SPS accused the international community and UN sanctions imposed on Serbia for all social problems, pointing out that it succeeded to protect the Serbian national interests, despite enormous difficulties. The parties of democratic opposition - which once agian failed to unite - asked the voters to change the regime, promising that the sanctions will be suspended automatically and that new government will stop further deterioration of living conditions.

The political analysts of the Serbian life conclude that the democratic parties had not succeeded in providing the appealing explanation of the contemporary situation, different from the one offered by the ruling party or in persvading them in their better capacities to rule. According to the pre-election polls by the Institute of Social Scineces, SPS will get the majority of the votes. However, since large parts of population are living on the border of bare survival, it is expected that democratic opposition parties will get considerable support as well. No single party is expected to be able to establish stable government, but no stable coalitions are perceived either.

The election results will thus, more than anything else, determine the coalition composition of the future Sebian government.

In their statements on the voting day, representattives of SPS and Serbian president Milosevic expressed their hope to get majority in the Parliament pointing that only stable Parliament and stable government can lead Serbia out of contemporary crisis. DEPOS leader Vuk Draskovic announced governmental coalition with all democratic parties, while the leader of DS Zoran Djindjic announced the establishment of expert government, peacefully coexisting with the socialist president Milosevic.

Jovanka Matic