SERBIA:PERIOD OF ELECTIONS ENDS; DOS TO SHOW STRENGTH IN AUTHORITY

BELGRADE, Dec 26 (Hina) - Last Saturday's election for the Serbian parliament put an end to the four-month-long voting tremor in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (consisting of Serbia and Montenegro). The landslide victory of the 18-party alliance - Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) - at the latest ballot shows that the DOS is definitely no longer the opposition. In addition, according to final results of the December 23 ballot, mustering 64.21 percent of the vote, the DOS will have to seek the opposition inside itself. Of 250 seats in the Serbian assembly, DOS deputies will occupy 176. The recently-elected President of Yugoslavia, Vojislav Kostunica who defeated Slobodan Milosevic at the September presidential ballot, on Saturday evening celebrated the DOS victory only in the main offices of his party and did not join other DOS leaders at their joint party. This, perhaps, indicates that one should not long wait to see 'opposition inside the Democratic Opposition'. According to the officially processed 97.59 percent of votes from last Saturday's election, the Electoral Commission has informed that the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) led by Milosevic, an international war crimes tribunal (ICTY) indictee, won 13.67 percent of the vote and thus 37 seats. The Serb Radical Party (SRS) led by a notorious nationalist, Vojislav Seselj, got 8.55 percent or 23 seats. The outcome has been in accordance with predictions and results of opinion polls conducted prior to the ballot. However, there have been two surprises. One smaller surprise is that the Party of Serb Renewal (SPO) led by a writer, Vuk Draskovic, did not pass the election threshold of five percent, as it received only 3.5 percent. Other bigger surprise is that the Party of the Serb Unity (SSJ), established in 1992 by war criminal Zeljko Raznjatovic alias Arkan who was killed earlier this year, managed to pass the threshold gaining 5.33 percent of the vote. Since Arkan's murder on 15 January 2000 this nationalist party has been led by his close aide Borislav Pelevic. At the constitution of the Serbian parliament, which is announced by a DOS leader, Zoran Djindjic, for 15 January 2001, the SSJ will get 14 seats. Some analysts find reasons for the success of this party in the current crisis on the south of Serbia (beside the boundary line with Kosovo), and in the fact that some of those disappointed in other nationalist parties (such as SRS, SPS, or SPO) decided to vote this time for the SSJ which has not yet been discredited while being in authority. DOS leader Nenad Canak, the chairman of the assembly in the northern province of Vojvodina, explained it by saying that "this is about nationalists disappointed in the existent and seen before (developments)." But analysts believe this should not be viewed as worrisome, as only 200,000 people of seven (7) million eligible voters were in favour of this ultra-nationalist party. Besides the SPO and the loser Draskovic, another 'tragic' person at the latest election was Mirjana Markovic, Milosevic's wife, whose party - the Yugoslav Left (JUL) - managed to gather merely 14,000 votes (0.33 percent), although JUL has claimed that the number of its fans and members is a six-figure one. After the coming holidays - New Year, and Christmas and New Year (7 and 14 January respectively, according to the Julian calendar observed by the Serb Orthodox Church) - the new authorities are expected on 15 January to start living up to their pre-election promises. One of first promises which should be fulfilled is the 'cleaning' in the ranks of the police, according to the announcement given by Zoran Djindjic. Perhaps, it will be the first real test for new politicians in authority. (hina) ms