The results of the Montenegrin presidential elections were also analyzed by Roksanda Nincic and Velizar Brajovic in the October 25, 1997 issue of the Belgrade weekly "Vreme".So, what is actually Milosevic doing ? What he knows best and the thing he has most experience with - he is bringing down his political opponent with a directed taking of masses to the streets and creating hysterical atmosphere, in which everything is afterwards solved with extraordinary measures which the FRY President likes so much. But, as somebody said in Podgorica, it is not the Same when Kraljevo and Kragujevac get up on their feet, as when Beran and Bijelo Polje do the same. For the President of Yugoslavia the main goal is not that there are no casualties, but to prevent the strengthening of the option which represents everything that he, Milosevic, has been successfully resisting for so long. At any price.
At this moment, there is no violence in Montenegro. Of course, if Bulatovic really cared about peace and dignity, he would not call his supporters to the streets, but the key question is whether Djukanovic's supporters will take to the streets. If this takes place, there is very little chance that conflict could be prevented.
The voting in the second round of the Montenegrin elections passed peacefully, but not without problems. First of all, the electoral lists were changed. One of the biggest mistakes of the Djukanovic election staff was that they did not check the lists ahead of the first round, even though they knew that the Republican electoral commission and the local electoral commissions are in the hands of Bulatovic?s men. This resulted in the fact that thousands of voters were dropped from the lists, particularly those of younger age.
It is interesting that the voter response was higher in the second than in the first round - which occurs rarely in the world - 67 percent of voters cme to the ballot box in the first round, 73 in the second.
But, the loser does not want to accept anything. Protesting the fact that the voting, particularly in Podgorica, was extended until early morning hours, Bulatovic is actually standing up against the decision of the Republican Electoral Commission which he controlled, because it was this Commission that has decided to extend the voting, due to large crowds at the ballot boxes. And why did these occur ? Because this same commission decided that each citizen has to sign the list, and this lasted and lasted.
The Commission dragged its feet in making public the results of the elections - although round four o'clock in the morning on October 20 it gave an unofficial announcement that Milo Djukanovic has been elected president.
Having in mind the fact that Yugoslavia is still far way from being a legal state, it is more important - and more dangerous, for the political fate of Milo Djukanovic that Montenegro is being destabilized based on the instructions from Belgrade and that, like on so many previous occasions, chaos is being orchestrated in which everything is possible, and particularly that Milosevic retains Montenegro under his control. Immediately after the results of the elections became known, as it turns out, Bulatovic sat on a plane and went to Belgrade for consultations. The results of these consultations became quite obvious very quickly.
Source: Belgrade weekly "Vreme" , October 25, 1997
back to index
Monitor Index | War Zone | MediaFilter