Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja on the Yugoslav elections


As the counting of the vote in the presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on 24 September, 2000, is proceeding it is becoming more and more evident that the democratic opposition, despite obstacles laid on its activities and communication, is about to win the elections. According to the observers, fraud and irregularities have also been detected in the elections.

The people of Serbia want democratic changes, which is manifested by the high turnout at the polls, particularly in Serbia. The low turnout in Montenegro demonstrates people´s abiding to the election boycott declared by the Montegrin government.

At this moment, I particularly emphasise the need to respect the people´s aspiration for change. Averting the results to indicate the opposition´s loss would not fool anybody. I hope this could be a beginning of a genuine democratic process in Serbia and the return of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as an equal partner to the European community.