(3 Sep 2000) Serbo-Croat/Nat
XFA
Yugoslavia's ruling coalition has officially nominated President Slobodan Milosevic's as its candidate in the upcoming elections, using the occasion to bolster his image.
Before formally submitting his candidacy to the federal election commission, top ranking officials told the press that their activists have collected more than 1.5 million signatures from citizens who support Milosevic.
According to the election law tailored to Milosevic's needs earlier this year, only 25,000 signatures - backed with each citizen's registration number - is required for a candidacy to be accepted.
Yugoslavia holds presidential, parliamentary and local elections on September the 24th, in a vote increasingly seen as a referendum on President Slobodan Milosevic's autocratic rule.
The Yugoslav strongman is facing his first serious challenge after a decade in power from opposition candidate Vojislav Kostunica, who leads every independent opinion poll so far.
The three top ranking Milosevic's lieutenants who submitted his candidacy were ; Gorica Gajevic, secretary general of Socialist Party of Serbia; Ljubisa Ristic of neo-communist Yugoslav United Left and Momir Bulatovic of pro-Milosevic Montenegrin Socialist People's Party.
Bulatovic, who also serves as a federal prime minister claimed that nearly 200,000 Montenegrins supported Milosevic's candidacy.
Montenegro is Serbia's smaller partner in Yugoslav two-republic federation. Its pro-Western government has been taking steps toward independence to protest against Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's hardline policies.
Citing recent constitutional changes that downgraded Montenegro's position in the federation, the government has decided to boycott the September 24 elections and announced it would launch an anti-election campaign.
However, despite their firm opposition to the elections, Montenegrin authorities have said they would not prevent the vote from taking place.
Montenegrins are deeply divided between pro-Milosevic camp and those who support independence.
SOUNDBITE: (Serbo-Croat)
"As representatives of parties that candidated Slobodan Milosevic for President of Yugoslavia we are executing not only the will of our parties but, the will of citizens of our country. We received ten times more support than the other candidates put together."
SUPERCAPTION: Gorica Gajevic, Secretary General of Socialist Party of Serbia
SOUNDBITE: (Serbo-Croat)
"Elections will take place in Montenegro and majority of Montenegro citizens
will express their opinion, everybody who wants to preserve Yugoslavia will support our candidate actual President of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic. "
SUPERCAPTION: Momir Bulatovic, Yugoslav prime minister
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