Election Date: February 3, 2008

Abstract: At stake: President
At stake: President

Background

In 1929, the kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was given the name of Yugoslavia. During World War II, a Nazi invasion forced the creation of paramilitary armies. One of them was led by Josip Broz Tito, who would later take over as head of the government in 1943, when the Nazis were repelled.

During the global conflict, the Serbs fought with another anti-Nazi guerrilla leader, Draza Mijajlovic, while the rest of the country followed Tito. In 1945, the country became the Communist Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia. Tito was elected prime minister. A year later, under a new constitution, Serbia lost Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which became constituent republics within the greater Yugoslavia.

Tito stayed in power for life. Under his rule, his opponents were brutally crushed. The country broke ties with the Soviet Union and tried to remain neutral during the Cold War.

Tito’s death on May 4, 1980, made evident permanent divisions between different nationalities and ethnicities in Yugoslavia. The economy throughout the 1980s was very weak.

In 1989, Slobodan Milosevic became Serbia’s president. Milosevic was an advocate of reuniting all Serbs into a "greater Serbia". His radical ideas were partly to blame for the final rupture of Yugoslavia.

Slovenia seceded in 1991. Croatia, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina became independent states in 1992. Only two republics remained: Serbia and Montenegro. The two formed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in April 1992. On that same year, Yugoslavia was suspended from the United Nations (UN).

Milosevic was to become a symbol of crimes against humanity. He enacted a brutal repression of Muslim Bosnians and led campaigns of ethnic cleansing that provoked a military intervention by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and a bloody conflict that ended in 1995. The Dayton Peace Accords were signed in November of that same year by Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia. At least 100,000 people died during the conflict; another 1.8 million fled as refugees.

Milosevic became president of Yugoslavia—still formed exclusively by Serbia and Montenegro—in July 1997. A group of ethnic Albanians living in Serbia, especially in Kosovo, constantly pushed to join Albania or reach full independence from Serbia. The separatist movement sparked a brutal retaliation led by Milosevic. NATO intervened again, but not before massive killings happened in the province of Kosovo. The conflict ended in June 1999.

Vojislav Kostunica, a low profile academic, won the federal election in September 2000. The president turned Milosevic over to the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague in June 2001. The gesture eventually led to Yugoslavia’s readmission into the UN. The former autocrat was charged with 66 war crimes, among them genocide and crimes against humanity. Milosevic died during his trial in March 2006, and was never actually convicted.

The remnants of the Yugoslav Federation were transformed into Serbia and Montenegro on Feb. 4, 2003. In March, Serbian prime minister Zoran Djindjic was assassinated. The politician had angered nationalists when he allowed Milosevic to be sent to The Hague.

In March 2004, a coalition administration headed by Kostunica of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) was established with the support of 130 legislators. In the June 2004 presidential election, Democratic Party (DS) candidate Boris Tadic defeated Serbian Radical Party (SRS) nominee Tomislav Nikolic in a run-off.

Click here for Serbia 2004 Presidential Election Tracker

In May 2006, Montenegro held a referendum on achieving its outright independence. The ballot passed by a small margin. On Jun. 4, Serbia and Montenegro’s federal president, Svetozar Marovic, acknowledged the results and dissolved his office.

On Jun. 5, the government of Serbia recognized the end of the joint nation. Seven days later, the European Union (EU) and the United States recognized Montenegro as a sovereign country.

Serbia is now a nation of approximately 10 million people. Its capital and largest city is Belgrade. Serb is the official language, but Hungarian, Slovak, Croatian and Albanian are also widely spoken in different parts of the country.

Kosovo has become an evermore pressing issue for Serbia. On Sept. 30, 2006, the Serbian National Assembly approved the text of the new constitution, which defines Serbia—including Kosovo—as a sovereign state. Kosovo, where 90 per cent of the population is ethnic Albanian, was established as an independent part of Serbia under the protection of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1999.

On Nov. 8, Serbia’s the new constitution was officially proclaimed following a nation-wide referendum.

In December, Kosovo prime minister Agim Ceku wrote a letter to the UN Security Council urging it to address the issue of separation promptly, saying, "In 21st century Europe, there is a state with two million people, without a voice in the world. We demand you to hear us, without destructive postponements and half-measures, (and) show us the future."

Serbia held a legislative ballot on Jan. 22, 2007, in the country’s first democratic process since the separation from Montenegro. Final results gave the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) 28.6 per cent of the vote and 81 seats, followed by the Democratic Party (DS) with 22.7 per cent and 64 mandates, the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and New Serbia (NS) with 16.6 per cent and 47 seats, the G-17 Plus with 6.8 percent and 19 mandates, the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) with 5.6 per cent and 19 seats, and a coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) with 5.3 per cent and 15 mandates.

Click here for Serbia 2007 National Assembly Election Tracker

On May 11, president Tadic announced that a deal had been reached to form a government, bringing together the Democratic Party (DS), the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) / New Serbia (NS), and the G-17 Plus to form a coalition administration. The three parties hold 192 of the Serbian National Assembly’s 250 seats.

Kosovo’s calls for independence have escalated throughout 2007. In July, Kosovar prime minister Ceku suggested that Kosovo would declare its unilateral independence on Nov. 28, 2007—a date that commemorates the independence of Albania.

On Oct. 29, Kosovo’s Hour Party (ORA) leader and member of Kosovo’s negotiating team Veton Surroi said he would support a motion to declare independence unilaterally this year, saying, "We have arrived at a point where we are tired of negotiating and need to make decisions. (...) We’ve been engaged in talks and we see clearly that it would have been better to have arrived at a solution through negotiations, but we cannot stay hostage to such a formula forever. (...) Our deputies in the Kosovo Assembly will seek to have a date before Christmas this year set for the proclamation of independence, as well as to inform the international community about this."

On Nov. 4, UN-sponsored negotiations between leaders of Serbia and Kosovo on the future of the province resumed. They are supposed to end on Dec. 10.

2008 Presidential Election

On Nov. 2, leaders of the Democratic Party (DS), the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and the G-17 Plus agreed on electoral reforms that the government wants to see adopted by Dec. 10. The new regulations include a call for an early presidential election. President Boris Tadic’s office confirmed the news in a statement, which read: "There is complete agreement that elections will be called after December 10 and the current round of Kosovo talks, provided that the country’s territorial integrity is not jeopardized." The three parties also committed to approve legislation to hold local and provincial elections throughout Serbia as soon as possible.

A Strategic Marketing & Media Research Institute poll conducted in October showed Serbians would be willing to re-elect Tadic in a lost of candidates that included Tomislav Nikolic of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS).

On Nov. 7, SRS leader Vojislav Seselj appeared before a UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Seselj is accused of inciting war crimes by giving inflammatory speeches and disseminating "poisonous ideas." Seselj was a close ally of Milosevic, and the prosecution claims that he incited crimes such as murder, torture and the persecution of Croats, Muslims and other non-Serbs during wars in Bosnia and Croatia in the 1990s. The politician turned himself to the tribunal in 2003 and pleaded not guilty. He has remained leader of the party, leaving Nikolic as his representative in the meantime.

During a pre-trial hearing, Seselj said earlier this year: "I am being tried for atrocious war crimes that I allegedly committed through hate speech as I preached my nationalist ideology that I am proud of. I have no other involvement in these crimes expect for what I said or wrote."

On Dec. 12, the presidential election was officially scheduled for Jan. 20, 2008. Incumbent president Boris Tadic of the Democratic Party (DS) will seek a new term in office. As was the case in the 2004 ballot, his main rival will be Tomislav Nikolic of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS).

On Dec. 23, Milutin Mrkonjic was confirmed as the presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS). SPS leader Ivica Dacic discussed the choice, saying, “We want a government of national unity to be formed. A ruling coalition like the current one, for whom power is most important, despite such hatred towards it, is the biggest danger to the country’s interests.”

On Jan. 18, Central Bank governor Radovan Jelasic said that a victory for Tadic—regarded as a pro-European politician—would help the country’s overall economic performance, saying, "A substantial win for Mr. Tadic would be a positive result. It would confirm that Serbia sees itself as a member of the European family."

First round voting took place on Jan. 20. Final results gave Nikolic 39.99 per cent of the vote, followed by Tadic with 35.39 per cent. Since no candidate garnered more than 50 per cent of all cast ballots, a run-off will take place on Feb. 3.

Run-off voting took place on Feb. 3. Final results gave incumbent Tadic the victory with 51.61 per cent of all cast ballots. Tadic declared: “We want to go to Europe. We want to cooperate with the world. We want to say to the people of Kosovo that we’ll never let them down. We need to work together to fulfil Serbia’s potential.” Nikolic conceded defeat, saying, “I would like to thank all those who voted for me, who understood how much Serbia needed a change. This result gives us a reason to be optimistic. I congratulate him on his victory. I will continue to be his tough opposition.”

Political Players

President: Boris Tadic - DS
Prime minister: Vojislav Kostunica - DSS

The president is elected to a five-year term by popular vote.

Legislative Branch: The Narodna Skupstina Srbije (Serbian National Assembly) has 250 members, elected to four-year terms.

Results of Last Election:

President - Jan. 20 and Feb. 3, 2008

	Jan. 20	Feb. 3
Boris Tadic - Democratic Party	35.39%	51.61%
Tomislav Nikolic - Serbian Radical Party	39.99%	47.69%
Velimir Ilic - New Serbia	7.43%	--
Milutin Mrkonjic - Socialist Party of Serbia	5.97%	--
Cedomir Jovanovic - Liberal Democratic Party	5.34%	--
Istvan Pastor - Hungarian Coalition	2.26%	--
Milanka Karic - Strength of Serbia Movement	0.98%	--
Marijan Risticevic - People’s Peasant Party - United Peasant Party	0.45%	--
Jugoslav Dobricanin - Reformist Party	0.29%	--

Serbian National Assembly - Jan. 21, 2007

	Vote%	Seats
Serbian Radical Party (SRS)	28.6%	81
Democratic Party (DS)	22.7%	64
Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) / New Serbia (NS)	16.6%	47
G-17 Plus	6.8%	19
Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS)	5.6%	16
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Civic Alliance of Serbia (GSS) Social Democratic Union (SDU) League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV)	5.3%	15
Serbia Renewal Movement (SPO)	3.3%	--
Party of United Pensioners of Serbia (PUPS) Social Democratic Party (SDP)	3.1%	--
Strength of Serbia Movement (SS)	1.7%	--
Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ)	1.3%	3
Coalition List for Sandzak	0.8%	2
Roma Union of Serbia (URS)	0.4%	1
Albanian Coalition from Presevo Valley	0.4%	1
"Because it has to be better"	0.4%	--
Roma Party	0.4%	1
Coalition "Hungarian Union"	0.3%	--
Coalition "Vojvodina parties"	0.2%	--
Democratic Community of Serbia (DZS)	0.1%	--
Social Democracy (SD)	0.1%	--
Reformist Party (RP)	0.1%	--

 

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