It is estimated that between 70 and 75 percent of Serbia's 7.5 million eligible voters cast ballots for president and for Yugoslavia's two houses of Parliament and Serbian local elections. Nevertheless, pro-Belgrade Montenegrins and Kosovo's Serbian minority participated, together accounting for only about 90,000 votes. Opposition activists say there are indications that regime officials were privately panicking at signs the opposition victory was bigger than they had expected. The regime knows that they lost on all levels. This is breaking news.
Some opposition leaders feel their victory is too decisive for the regime to ignore.
But a former U.S. government official with a Balkans portfolio says Milosevic may not have too much difficulty staying in power. He doesn't have to do very much. Indeed, the regime-controlled Federal Elections Commission had kicked out opposition and independent monitors from the places where the FEC was counting votes. It was clear that the group was under orders to arrive at a vote count that would show Milosevic with a convincing lead. Opposition activists say that convincing the police and army that Milosevic has no legitimate claim on power could be crucial to prevent a Tiananmen Square-like scenario in which the leader would call on the police and army to attack crowds of Serbs protesting his claims of victory.