Word: kostunica
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...recap of the events in Belgrade earlier this fall: A former military ruler gets defeated in election, but wants to remain in office; a popular uprising forces him from power; the elected opposition leader is sworn in as new leader. This, however, is where the two stories diverge. Vojislav Kostunica won in Yugoslavias first free elections and rightfully claimed victory over Slobodan Milosevic. However, Laurent Gbagbo, who claimed victory in the Ivorty Coast election, did not win over former General Robert Gue in an entirely democratic election, since two other major opposition parties were excluded from the ballot...
Gbagbo has followed Kostunica as a beneficiary of democracy, but now he needs to acknowledge that the elections were seriously flawed. After winning the staged elections last Sunday, he has the unique chance to lead his country towards a full democracy. Ousting a corrupt dictator, however, is not enough. Gbagbo must promise fully democratic elections and the reinstitution of a multi-party democracy...
...fact that both the Serbs and the Kosovar Albanians have now chosen scholarly men of reason to lead them doesn't diminish the differences they'll have to bridge. Despite his pacifism, Rugova is as firmly committed to independence as Thaci is, while Yugoslavian president Vojislav Kostunica is determined to hold on to it by legal means. And of course right now, Kostunica has the "law" on his side, in the sense that the U.N. resolution that ended last year's war affirmed Yugoslavian sovereignty over an autonomous (but not independent) Kosovo. That's an issue that may still split...
Yugoslavia's new President, Vojislav Kostunica, met with TIME's Andrew Purvis and Dejan Anastasijevic in Belgrade...
...down for an hour or so, really examine the issues (and I mean the issues, not George's tie or Al's makeup), you're bound to recognize glaring differences between the two candidates. Sure, we're not talking about socialism versus fascism, or Milosevic versus Kostunica. But we are talking about an important national decision, and if you really are undecided now, with less than three weeks left before you (hopefully) head to the voting booth, you've got some thinking ahead...