Serbs vote to banish the ghost of Milosevic

SERBIAN voters went to the polls yesterday to choose a new president from among 11 candidates, all of whom have promised to end the political and economic limbo left behind by Slobodan Milosevic.

The election is the first in Serbia, Yugoslavia's larger republic, since the former leader was ousted in a popular revolt in 2000.

Both the leading candidates Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica and the country's deputy prime minister, Miroljub Labus have pledged to move closer to the West. But a strong showing by ultra-nationalists would indicate Serbia has yet to move past Milosevic's rule.

Neither of the men are expected to collect half the vote, the percentage needed to win outright.

Fixing the troubled economy and safeguarding welfare benefits have been the key election issues in this country of 10 million, still hurting from 13 years of wars and international isolation fostered under Milosevic's rule.

"I hope that whoever wins will make it better for the people," said Dragan Djordjevic, a 55-year-old beekeeper from the eastern Serbian town of Petrovac na Mlavi. "I hope we can make more money."

Kostunica, the leading figure in the revolt, is losing his present job next year under constitutional changes intended to transform Yugoslavia into a loose union of its two republics, Serbia and Montenegro.

Known for his sedate temper and long-winded speeches, the 58-year-old former law school professor has campaigned on a platform promising less radical economic reforms than those advocated by Labus, his main rival and a former ally.

Labus, an economist who has spearheaded the country's efforts to negotiate loans and aid with the West, has advocated swift action to shut down aging factories and spur growth in the stagnating economy.

The 55-year-old former professor is backed by Serbia's Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, who has a long-standing feud with Kostunica over the pace of reforms and the decision to hand over Milosevic to the UN war crimes court in The Hague on charges of war crimes and genocide. The dark horse in the race is Vojislav Seselj, an ultranationalist who leads the Serbian Radical Party. Milosevic, from his detention cell in the Netherlands, has openly backed Seselj, his former coalition partner.

The field also includes Velimir Bata Zivojinovic, a former actor, and Vuk Draskovic, a former key opposition leader who fell from grace after joining Milosevic's government during NATO's 1999 air war against Yugoslavia.

The remaining candidates are Nebojsa Pavkovic, Milosevic's former army commander; Branislav Ivkovic, a Socialist Party dissident; Vuk Obradovic a former general; Borislav Pelevic, an ultranationalist; and businessmen, Dragan Radenovic and Tomislav Lalosevic.

Serbia's current president, Milan Milutinovic, opted not to run for re-election because he is wanted by the UN court on war crimes charges related to the war in Kosovo.