Presidents rotated annually among the six republics of Yugoslavia. When Mesić's turn came to become president on 15 May 1991, the Serbian incumbent Member Borisav Jović demanded, against all constitutional rules, that an election be held. The members from Serbia and its provinces voted against, and the member from Montenegro abstained, leaving Mesić one vote short of the majority. Under pressure from the international community after the Ten-Day War in Slovenia, Mesić was appointed on 1 July 1991.