Word: kostunica
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Dates: during 2000-2000
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...nominate their own presidential candidate, while the other major opposition parties came together under the name of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS). What Milosevic failed to predict was that DOS would grow exponentially in strength and that it would produce a worthy opponent to Milosevic himself, Dr. Vojislav Kostunica...
...former professor at the Belgrade University Law School, Kostunica was expelled in the 1974 by the Communist authorities because of his democratic beliefs. He has been active in Serbia's political arena for the past decade and remains the only major opposition politician who never even met Milosevic personally, let alone cooperated with his regime. Even his opponents admit that he is stubbornly persistent in his views, a fact that has contributed to his reputation of incorruptibility and honesty. He is also a moderate nationalist and a relentless critic of the West, which makes him all the more appealing...
From the outset of the campaign, Kostunica was forced to fight an extremely uneven and dirty battle. Milosevic's war against the independent media, which culminated in May with a violent takeover of Belgrade's only independent TV station, left Serbia in complete media darkness. As a result, Kostunica can access the voters only through a strenuous door-to-door campaign. Furthermore, Milosevic doesn't hesitate to use the police to crack down on his opponents, with arrests, kidnappings and beatings becoming a daily occurrence. Despite the dramatic escalation in political violence, Kostunica succeeded in uniting the anti-Milosevic Serbia...
Despite a two-to-one advantage in the electorate, however, Kostunica's victory is far from certain. Milosevic is preparing to commit fraud on a level never seen before. Electoral committees are state-controlled and DOS can do little to ensure the legitimacy of the election process. The regime will eliminate the opposition supporters from the lists of eligible voters while allowing its supporters to vote under several names. Employees of state-run enterprises will receive pre-filled voting slips in advance. As if that was not enough, Milosevic is ready to openly steal the votes of the Kosovo Albanians...