page_title: 1990 Croatian parliamentary election
section_title: Croatian Serb response
hierarchical_section_title: 1990 Croatian parliamentary election / Aftermath / Croatian Serb response
caption_attribution_description: English: Jovan Rašković in Chicago.
context_page_description: Parliamentary elections were held in the Socialist Republic of Croatia between 22 and 23 April 1990; the second round of voting occurred on 6–7 May. These were the first free, multi-party elections held in Croatia since 1938, and the first such elections for the Croatian Parliament since 1913. Voters elected candidates for 356 seats in the tri-cameral parliament; the turnout in the first round ranged between 76.56% and 84.54% for various parliamentary chambers. In the second round, the turnout was 74.82%. The Croatian Democratic Union won 205 seats, ousted the League of Communists of Croatia – Party of Democratic Reform from power and ended 45 years of communist rule in Croatia. The new parliament convened for the first time on 30 May, elected Franjo Tuđman as President of the Croatian Presidency and soon after renamed the office to President of Croatia.
  The election took place during a political crisis within the Yugoslav federation, the disintegration of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, and growing ethnic tensions between Croats and Serbs.
context_section_description: Serbian nationalism in Croatia was well developed long before HDZ took power, but legislation and especially nationalist rhetoric used by HDZ fed that nationalism. An association of Serb municipalities was already established in Knin ahead of the elections. Civilians armed by the authorities of Serbia patrolled the area as Croatian control waned in the region. The Serbian government responded to HDZ's electoral victory by stating that Croatian authorities intended only to harm Croatian Serbs, exacerbating the already tense situation and supporting extremists among the SDS ranks. Provocative actions of extremists among HDZ further served SDS hardliners' goals to instill fear among Serbs.
  On 25 July, hours after  the parliament adopted the amendments, Serb National Council (SNC) was set up at a political rally in Srb and the Declaration on sovereignty and autonomy of Serbian nation was adopted. On 1 August, the SNC met in Knin, elected Milan Babić as its president and announced a referendum on Serb autonomy in parts of Croatia with Serb-majority populations. It was scheduled for the period from 19 August to 2 September. Croatian authorities declared the plan illegal on 3 August.
  On 17 August, Croatian authorities planned to restore their control of Knin and deployed police via Benkovac and Obrovac towards the town. The Airborne Unit of the special police was ferried by helicopters from Zagreb as reinforcements. Knin police inspector Milan Martić deployed Knin police against the Croatian forces, and mobilized police reservists in the area to fell trees and block road access to the town, earning the event the moniker Log Revolution. The JNA deployed Yugoslav Air Force jets to intercept the helicopters and Croatian authorities backed down. The SNC referendum went ahead and produced support for an "independent status" of Croatian Serbs. Babić consolidated power over the region, which soon became the Serbian Autonomous Oblast Krajina (SAO Krajina). As SAO Krajina gradually consolidated and expanded areas under its control, armed clashes in Pakrac and Plitvice Lakes ensued by March and April 1991, sparking the Croatian War of Independence. By that time, 28 of the 37 ethnic Serb members of the Croatian parliament, including all five SDS representatives, had left the parliament.
caption: Jovan Rašković, the head of the Serb Democratic Party
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