Serbia & Montenegro (Republic of Serbia) 1/2004

COUNTRY INFORMATION BULLETIN

Serbia & Montenegro (Republic of Serbia) 1/2004

Introduction

1.1 This Bulletin has been produced by the Country Information and Policy Unit, Immigration and Nationality Directorate, Home Office, to identify information about the December 2003 elections in the Republic of Serbia and obtained from a wide variety of recognised sources. It does not contain any Home Office opinion or policy.

1.2 This Bulletin has been prepared for background purposes for those involved in the asylum / human rights determination process. The information it identifies is not exhaustive. It concentrates on the issues most commonly raised in asylum / human rights claims made in the United Kingdom.

1.3 The Bulletin is sourced throughout. It is intended to be used by caseworkers as a signpost to the source material, which has been made available to them. The vast majority of the source material is readily available in the public domain.

1.4 This Bulletin and the accompanying source material are publicly disclosable. Where sources identified in the Bulletin are available in electronic form the relevant link has been included. The date that the relevant link was accessed in preparing the Bulletin is also included. Paper copies of the sources have been distributed to nominated officers in Asylum Caseworking Directorate and all Presenting Officer Units.

1.5. This bulletin is supplementary to the Serbia & Montenegro Country Report of October 2003.

Part 1: Election December 28 2003

Summary

The Nationalist Serbian Radical Party won the largest proportion of votes in the parliamentary elections held on 28 December 2003, ensuring the Radicals as the largest political force in the Serbian Parliament. The proportion (27.3 per cent of votes cast – 80 seats out of 250) is insufficient to directly form a minority government.

The Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) stated that the elections were conducted generally in line with international standards for democratic

Serbia & Montenegro (Republic of Serbia) 1/2004 Serbia & Montenegro (Republic of Serbia) 1/2004 elections, though there were still some residual problems with existing electoral law in terms of postal voting arrangements.

Background

1.1. The parliamentary elections in Serbia were scheduled to be held within 2004; however, the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic in March 2003 and tensions within the democratic alliance, prompted the Democratic Party to seek an earlier re-election. [8ac]

1.2. The three sets of Presidential elections held throughout 2003, all to be declared invalid as insufficient electors voted, hastened the need to reaffirm representative democracy though popular parliamentary elections. [8ah][8ai][[8aj] The two largest opposition parties called for parliamentary elections in September 2003, but the Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic rejected that particular call. [8ak] The turnout for the third set of presidential elections was the lowest (at 39 percent) of the series of abortive elections. [8ai]

1.3. The trial of Djindjic’s alleged murderer and accomplices began on 22 December 2003, less than a week before the parliamentary elections, and ran concurrently with election coverage until the election results broke on 29 December 2003. [8al][8am]

Parties, Manifestos, Politics

2.1. By the deadline of 12 December 2003, candidates from 19 political parties were registered with REC, the Serbian Electoral Commission. [31i]

2.2. Four of the parties included individuals indicted for war crimes as bearers of office (party leaders) and / or candidates. As the individuals are not convicted war criminals, they were permitted to stand as candidates. However, in the words of OSCE ‘the willingness to embrace candidates charged with war crimes, and associated with politics that resulted in extreme human rights abuses, conveys the clear intention on the part of some political parties in Serbia to adhere to the denounced legacy of the past.’ [31i]

2.3. The SRS – Srpska Radikalna Stranka – the Serbian Radical Party founded in 1991 jointly by Vojislav Seselj and Tomislav Nikolic. [8af] In a BBC interview after the election result, Nikolic was probed as to the Radicals’ stance on a number of issues. [8ab] The most widely reported aspect of the Radicals’ policy was the desire to create or re-create a “Greater Serbia” [8af] which has been interpreted in two ways – one of territorial ambition [30i], but during and since the elections, in terms, by Nikolic, of ‘a link between East and West’. [8ab][8af] The SRS has a policy of ‘co-operation not concessions’ towards the EU [8af], and is not as constrained by EU membership consideration as nationalist parties in other Balkan states, notably the HDZ in Croatia. [30i]

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2.4. Nikolic was the SRS candidate in the Presidential elections held on November 2003, and won most votes as a candidate, but not able to secure the Presidency as the elections were deemed for the third time to be inquorate and legally invalid. [8ah]

2.5. The head of the SRS, Vojislav Seselj, is currently in the Hague, indicted by the International War Crimes – Yugoslavia tribunal. As an indictee, he cannot take up his seat in the Serbian Parliament, and is currently represented by his deputy, Nikolic. [8ae] Seselj was associated with Milosovic until a rift in 1993, when he accused Milosovic of bowing to international community pressure and not supporting the Bosnian Serbs. [8ae] Milosovic has since 2003 has encouraged his supporters to back Seselj in the presidential elections. [8ae]

2.6. The DSS – Democratic Party of Serbia founded in 2001 as a breakaway party from the Democratic coalition led by Zoran Djindjic. The DSS followed Vojislav Kostunica, former president of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, after personal rivalry disagreements between Kostunica and Djindjic. [8af]

2.7. The DS – Demokratska Stranka - the Democracy party, is the largest party in the Democratic Alliance (the DOS) that was formed out of 18 opposition parties in 2000 with the objective of displacing Slobodan Milosevic’s SPS from Government. Headed by Zoran Djindjic, Prime Minister from 2000 onwards, until Djindjic’s assassination in March 2003, and currently headed by Boris Tadic, the Minister for Defence. [8af] The DOS alliance has disintegrated since 2000, and the defeat of its candidate in the third run of Presidential elections in November 2003 was a great blow to the remains of the alliance. [8ah]

2.8. G17- Plus – a party that grew out of an NGO (non-governmental organisation) pressing for economic reforms. Founded as a political party in December 2002, headed by Mladjan Dinkic, and a leadership made up of economists and technocrats. A policy towards making Serbia a strong democratic player in the Balkan region. [8af]

2.9. The SPS – Socijalisticka partija Srbije - Socialist Party of Serbia. Formed in 1990 from two communist-era predecessors, headed by Slobodan Milosovic. In the late 1990s, governed with coalition partners such as the SRS. Defeated in 2000 by the Democratic Alliance. [8af] Slobodan Milosovic won a seat in the November 2003 elections; cannot take up his seat as he is an indictee, currently on trial before the IWC-Y Tribunal in the Hague. [8am]

Observation of Elections’ Conduct

3.1. According to OSCE ODIHR’s Preliminary Findings and Conclusions, the elections ‘were conducted generally in line with OSCE commitments and Council of Europe standards for democratic elections. A high number of

Serbia & Montenegro (Republic of Serbia) 1/2004 Serbia & Montenegro (Republic of Serbia) 1/2004 contestants presented voters with a genuine choice and overall the election process was well administered.’ [31i]

3.2. OSCE did however have reservations about aspects of the legislative framework for the elections. [31i] One aspect is the power that parties and coalitions are able to manipulate their candidates once elected, effectively promoting or demoting candidates into elected seats without recourse to stated electoral preference. [31i] Another reservation is the inadequacy of electoral arrangements for segments of the electorate who need special voting provisions. [31i]

Election Results

4.1. The results were a significant but not decisive win for the SRS. [12c] Described as a ‘bitter blow for pro-Western reformers’ [12c] [Table of results – Annex A below]

New Government

5.1. On 30 December 2003, after the results of the election, there were reports of the four main democratic parties pooling together as a coalition, holding jointly enough seats to form a small majority over the SRS, the Radicals. [55b] However Kostunica of the DSS announced that the DSS would not enter a coalition with the DS; and the G-17 Plus Party would not enter a coalition that did not include the DS. [55b]

5.2. According to the BBC on 31 December 2003, ‘There are likely to be weeks of negotiation between parties before a new government can be established.’ [8ad]

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Annex A: Election Results

Political Political Percentage Seats Seats: Party: Name Party: of vote (250 in total) alliance Initials (59.3% breakdown turnout of of seats electorate) Srpska SRS 27.7 82 Radikalna Stranka Democratic DSS 18.0 53 Party of Serbia Demokratska DS 12.6 37 Stranka – DS 32 Democracy GSS 5 Party G17- Plus G17- Plus 11.7 34 Srpski SPO-NS 7.7 23 Socijalisticka SPS 7.7 21 partija Srbije - Socialist Party of Serbia The ZT, DA, ZNJ, Otpor, SS parties polled the remaining 11.5 % of the vote between them but did not gain any seats.

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Annex B: References to Source Material

[8] BBC News (website news.bbc.co.uk) 8ab. 30 December 2003, Serb Radical outlines ambitions (Accessed 2 January 2003) 8ac. 29 December 2003, EU pins hopes on Serbia reformers (Accessed 31 December 2003) 8ad. 30 December 2003, Serbia waits for a government (Accessed 31 December 2003) 8ae. 29 December 2003, Profile: Vojislav Seselj (Accessed 31 December 2003) 8af. 24 December 2003, Serbia vote: Parties and players (Accessed 31 December 2003) 8ag. - 8ah. 19 November 2003, Serbia bloc folds after key role (Accessed 7 January 2003) 8ai. 18 November 2003, Serb turnout worst in past year (Accessed 7 January 2003) 8aj. 16 November 2003, Third failure for Serbia poll (Accessed 7 January 2003) 8ak. 10 September 2003, Election call in Serbia crisis (Accessed 7 January 2003) 8al. 22 December 2003, Serbia tries PM murder suspects (Accessed 7 January 2003) 8am. 22 November 2003, Crime and politics meet in Serbia trial (Accessed 7 January 2003)

[12] CNN.com (website europe.cnn.com) 12c. 29 December 2003, Hardliners top Serbian poll (Accessed 2 January 2003)

[30] Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (website www.referl.com) 30i. 31 December 2003, 2003 & Beyond: Are the Balkans swinging back towards nationalism? (Accessed 31 December 2003)

[31] OSCE (The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) 31i. Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, International Election Observation Mission: Republic of Serbis (Serbia and Montenegro) Parliamentary Elections 28 December 2003, Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions.

[55] Voice of America (website VOANnews.com): 55b. 30 December 2003, Serbian reformist parties to discuss formation of coalition government (Accessed 31 December 2003)

Serbia & Montenegro (Republic of Serbia) 1/2004