BELGRADE Serbia's opposition said on Thursday maverick politician Vuk Draskovic risked splitting the vote against Slobodan Milosevic by putting forward his own presidential candidate.
Representatives of 15 opposition parties met to discuss a joint candidate to run against the Serbian strongman in the presidential election on September 24. Parliamentary and local elections are set for the same day.
Analysts say two opposition candidates would split the vote among Milosevic's foes and diminish the chances of ousting him.
The Serbian Renewal Movement, led by Draskovic, did not attend the meeting, but Momcilo Perisic of the Movement for Democratic Serbia said he had talked with Draskovic by phone.
"Draskovic asked us to join him in boycotting parliamentary elections and demanded that we support his candidate for the federal president," said Perisic, who hosted the meeting.
"In return he would work with us in the local polls." He said Draskovic had not identified his potential presidential candidate, but an opposition source said it could be Belgrade mayor and senior SPO official Vojislav Mihajlovic.
The SPO was not available for comment. Party sources said it would meet on Sunday to decide on all election issues.
Opposition Seeks Unity The Western-leaning leadership of Montenegro, Serbia's junior partner in the Yugoslav Federation, has already said it will boycott next month's elections because it believes they will not be affair.
The announcement dealt a blow to the opposition, which failed on Wednesday to persuade Montenegro to change its mind.
"If the opposition runs united, it will surely win," Perisic said. "If we are divided we will help the government stay in power." "We regret Montenegro's decision and that means we'll have to get more votes on our own, but that is not an impossible task," said Democratic Party leader Zoran Djindjic.
The opposition parties at Thursday's meeting will take part in the presidential, parliamentary and local elections called last month by Milosevic in a bid to cement his rule.
The SPO has said it will probably only take part in the local polls, aiming to preserve its power in major cities, including Belgrade, following 1996 election wins.
Perisic urged the SPO to support a joint opposition candidate for the presidency. "We know we would be more successful with the SPO. But if they don't join, we'll ask them to support our joint candidate against Milosevic." He said the opposition would wait one week for a decision from Draskovic.
The 15 parties would choose their candidate tipped to be Vojislav Kostunica, leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia on Monday. But an opposition source said Kostunica had made clear he wanted the support of Montenegrin and Western leaders before accepting.
The Radical Party, Milosevic's coalition partner, said on Thursday that deputy party leader Tomislav Nikolic was a likely candidate if it decided to run in the presidential vote.
(Reuter)