BELGRADE, Sept 5 (Hina) - The Yugoslav President and the leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia, Vojislav Kostunica, and a member of the Socialist Party of Serbia, Velimir Bata Zivojinovic, on Thursday handed over their candidacies
for the coming presidential election in Serbia, scheduled for 29 September.
BELGRADE, Sept 5 (Hina) - The Yugoslav President and the leader of
the Democratic Party of Serbia, Vojislav Kostunica, and a member of
the Socialist Party of Serbia, Velimir Bata Zivojinovic, on
Thursday handed over their candidacies for the coming presidential
election in Serbia, scheduled for 29 September. #L#
Kostunica, who on Thursday launched his campaign, said he "would
not have made his candidacy if he had not expected to win the
election."
He added that "the process of the disintegration of the state has
been stopped," and that "Yugoslavia is existing under one or the
other name."
He stressed that they should now focus more on Serbia.
Another candidate Bata Zivojinovic, who is known as actor,
delivered his candidacy with his slogan "We Know Each Other!".
On this occasion he emphasised that he called on the president of
his party, Slobodan Milosevic, "to tell the people of Serbia whom he
will support at the presidential election."
The people does not believe in the messages that have indirectly
arrived from The Hague and that indicated that Milosevic called on
his party's membership to vote for a presidential candidate,
Vojislav Seselj, the leader of the Serb Radical Party, Zivojinovic
asserted.
So far, the official candidacy for the presidential race has been
submitted by a Yugoslav Vice Premier, Miroslav Labus, the Serbian
Revival Movement's chief, Vuk Draskovic, the above-mentioned
Seselj, the leader of Social Democrats, Vuk Obradovic, and the
leader of the Party of Serbian Unity of the late mobster Zeljko
Raznatovic Arkan, Borislav Pelevic.
Mayor of Cacak and the leader of the New Serbia party, Velimir Ilic,
has announced that he will give up from the candidature in favour of
Kostunica.
According to the results of the latest opinion poll, conducted by
the "Strateski Marketing" agency, Kostunica's popularity have
risen to the 25 percent of respondents since the announcement of his
official candidacy. The popularity of the another major candidate,
Labus, stagnates at the 24 percent.
The biggest rise in the popularity from three percent two months ago
to 13.4 percent now has been registered for Seselj. This is ascribed
to Milosevic's backing to this radical.
(hina) ms sb