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August 22, 2000 Goran Svilanovic, president of the Civil Alliance of Serbia Trained Observers Will Prevent Election Fraud
Goran Svilanovic was born in Gnjilane, Kosovo, in 1963. He became an assistant professor at the Belgrade University Law School in 1989 and was actively engaged in research activities delving into the issues pertaining to the refugees. He worked as a volunteer for the SOS phone service for the victims of war. He left the Law School in 1998 following the enactment of infamous Law on University. During the bombing campaign in 1999, he spent three months in the Yugoslav Army as a member of the army's reserve troops. Svilanovic was a spokesperson for the Civil Alliance of Serbia in 1997, vice-president in 1998 becoming a party's leader in 1999. Married; two children. FS: What is your view of the current situation on the Serbian political scene, particularly the opposition one, and what is the position of the Civil Alliance of Serbia with respect to other political parties? I don't know, it's too late for such questions, or perhaps it's too early for them; that's the question you should ask after the elections. Right now we have the Serbian Democratic Opposition (DOS) which has put forth only one presidential candidate and that's only what matters. This is not the time to discuss individual political parties and their peculiarities, so I wouldn't even speak about my political party, the Civil Alliance of Serbia. FS: Many observers believe that the forthcoming elections would be rigged. Has the united opposition prepared a concrete action strategy to respond to this, or perhaps, everything would be just spontaneous and disorganised like before? 
Everyone, of course, is thinking about what will happen in the case of widespread fraud in the elections, but previously two things must take place. Firstly, we indeed must win, and secondly, we must be in possession of firm evidence to uphold the charges of electoral fraud. Only then could both political parties and the citizens respond to this. Without these two conditions previously satisfied, we cannot surmise "what will happen if…" Firstly, we have to win the support of the Serbian citizens and to do our best to prevent election fraud. Only then, in the case of rigged elections, could you expect mass protests. This isn't something I think about right now. FS: According to some recent public opinion polls, there are still large numbers of undecided voters. How, in your view, could the opposition bloc prevail upon undecided voters to go to the polls and vote for the opposition? Those very surveys have proved just the opposite. For example, according to a survey conducted a month ago, the percentage of undecided voters, provided the opposition united for the elections, was reduced to 15-20%. Bearing in mind that some 10 % of the electorate would not cast ballots at all, this means that the turnout will about 70% or even more. I would love if 80% or 85% voted in the elections, but despite this, it's quite clear that people have made up their mind. Therefore, we've also gone too far with this issue of undecided voters. If the democratic opposition unites for the elections, there are no more undecided voters. If we run in the forthcoming elections separately, the support among the electorate for the opposition drops. Consequently, the best option is to have one presidential candidate and a joint election list. FS: As far as refugees, i.e., "internally displaced persons" from Kosovo are concerned, there is a serious problem because they are supposed to vote in Vranje and Prokuplje electoral districts thus allowing for the regime's manipulations with votes. How could this be prevented? In legal terms, those people have the status of displaced persons and they have the right to vote in the elections in their own country. The regime's solution to this problem was to divide them into two southern voting districts so as to increase the number of seats for the Federal Parliament which these two election units will give. The problem is that all of the people from Kosovo are supposed to vote in those two electoral districts. We're not talking here of displaced persons only, but all those who have previously voted in Kosovo. I do not object to the fact that Vranje and Prokuplje electoral units should give 10 and 9 federal MPs respectively since there are many more people in this region than before, but it's unfair that only in these two voting districts all the people who have previously voted in Kosovo itself are supposed to cast ballots. It will be extremely difficult to organise any sort of control and monitoring of the election process there. This is just one of the schemes prepared beforehand and implemented by the regime through a legislative process in the parliament.
When it comes to Kosovo Albanians, turnout for elections so far has been low, so they won't go to the polls now either. On previous occasions as well their votes have been used for the regime's manipulations and election rigging, but now this is particularly conspicuous. All those people who were closely following the previous election for the post of the Serbian president were well aware of the fact that the whole of Drenica (former KLA stronghold in Kosovo) voted for the Socialist Party of Serbia presidential candidate, Milan Milutinovic. Unfortunately, no one can do much about it. If the regime has room for election fraud and manipulations anywhere, then for sure it's in Kosovo. It doesn't really matter whether these people from Kosovo will vote in Vranje and Prokuplje in southern Serbia. What matters is that we won't be able to know who has actually voted and whether someone's registered as a voter in electoral rolls in Vranje or Prokuplje because those voting lists are not being delivered to any of the political parties on time. The only thing we can do is to have as good control over the election process at local polling places as possible and to have observers monitoring the process who would be previously trained for the task and who could prevent irregularities and manipulations. FS: Talking of ideal candidate for Yugoslav president, it seems that the man for the job should be young, educated, uncorrupted… You yourself fit into this description perfectly, but your name has not been on the table during many talks on this subject. Did you perhaps wish to run for president? We have our presidential candidate and I'll do everything in my power starting today so that he may win the presidential election. FS: Even before the Serbian Renewal Movement left the Serbian Democratic Opposition (DOS), there were viciously attacking the rest of the opposition, and particularly so the Civil Alliance of Serbia (GSS). They alleged that they were the ones who had made a parliamentary political party out of GSS, etc. What is your position as regards these allegations and the Renewal Movement's decision to take part in both the presidential and local elections on their own? This is not a good thing. It's no good that they consider themselves to be opposition to the regime in Serbia, and yet do such things. The Serbian citizens, the people living in Kraljevo, Valjevo, Cacak, Kikinda, Zrenjanin and elsewhere now have to reconsider political affiliations and share their allegiance to one or the other side. They are the ones who want changes to take place in this country and they will vote against Milosevic. We have already boycotted the elections once before and I've clearly stated that, in my view, this has been a grave mistake. As to the behaviour and actions of the Serbian Renewal Movement, I have no comment. What I'm truly interested in is that all those who want to participate in the elections be organised and to contribute to our victory over Milosevic. Any agreement which would exclude the possibility of our fielding a joint presidential candidate which in turn would entail further dissipation of our votes is for me a bad option... FS: Once you've said that in Serbia we're through with nationalism and that the opposition election campaign will be based on economic issues. Have xenophobia and nationalism indeed been defeated lingering only in fragments within our society? I'm trying to compare the situation of almost a decade ago to the current situation in the year 2000. I think that we have accomplished so much in that respect. People are now more interested in how they live, and why their living standard has hit bottom, and they see their neighbours as their neighbours, the people are not interested anymore in their nationality or faith, and this is the background of the statement I've given. I'm well aware that many people cannot overcome what's been happening to us over the course of the past few years, and indeed many horrible things have taken place. We have been heavily involved in wars waged in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, so there is still in place this nationalist ressentiment excluding the acceptance of the concept of diversity, but it has grown much weaker in comparison to what we had before so I'm an optimist in the sense that the people in Serbia will become a part of the world - open for communication with others, friendly and tolerant. This is what I truly want to happen, but I'm perfectly well aware of the context - horrible wars in these parts are behind us and there have been enormous sufferings and hardships so immense efforts are necessary for the people to open up entirely and accept all of those who also live in this, the same country. FS: You've said that you're a FC Red Star fan. What do you expect on Wednesday against Dinamo Kiev? Red Star's victory, of course. FS: And on September 24? Victory of Red Star and Partizan fans and of all of those who love Serbia. Dragan Maravic
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Another issue is what and how this should resolved. The displaced persons from Kosovo are entitled to vote in their own country, but it would be a good thing to know exactly where they have been registered and their names should be included in the electoral rolls locally in those municipalities where they are currently accommodated. Nothing of the sort has been done thus far and that's where the real problem lies.
