Slobodan Milosevic’s opposition seems to have outvoted him in rump–Yugoslavia’s presidential election yesterday. But they haven’t yet defeated him, much less gotten rid of the super-Serb who bullied his way into losing battles and world disgrace. Now comes the endgame after an election campaign that wasn’t exactly designed to be decisive.
The Milosevic team had announced that he would stay in office till next summer anyway, when his old term runs out. He was also expected to steal the election, if he could, so the question all along was whether the massed opposition could follow the voting with sustained public defiance that might yet bring him down. On the morning after the voting, the Milosevic “ins” and the American-backed “outs” are both claiming to have won. It could be Milosevic’s choice to hold a final runoff election; and the opposition’s choice to fight him in the street.
(Hosted by Christopher Lydon)
Guests:
Zarko Korac, president of the Socialdemocrat Union
Alexa Djilas, Serbian historian from Belgrade
and Steve Erlanger, NY Times correspondent.