Annulment 'buys time' for Milosevic, says opposition

President Milosevic and wife Mirjana Markovic vote in the September 24 election

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia -- Opposition leaders in Yugoslavia have described the decision by the constitutional court to annul last month's presidential election as a move to buy time for Slobodan Milosevic.

Though the court said a new vote must be scheduled, the opposition doubts that it will happen, leaving Milosevic as president.

Djordje Mamula, from the party led by Milosevic challenger Vojislav Kostunica, said the decision looked deliberately ambiguous.

"We have to see the authentic decision of the constitutional court to be able to give a full explanation. This statement is not enough," he said.

IN-DEPTH Yugoslavia Decides 2000   • Overview   • The road ahead   • Key players   • Party profiles   • Shrinking of Yugoslavia   • Maps/At-a-glance     ALSO Yugoslav protests to continue after elections annulled US - White House accuses Milosevic of 'another stalling tactic'    VIDEO CNN's Nic Robertson finds some in Montenegro still are behind Milosevic (October 4) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Alessio Vinci reports on what the opposition is doing to try to make Milosevic step down (October 4) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     IMAGE GALLERY Images from the historic vote     MESSAGE BOARD Peace in the Balkans

"They are buying time because there is a possibility that the entire presidential vote will be postponed."

CNN's Alessio Vinci said: "By cancelling the vote altogether, the court is also cancelling the fact that Mr. Milosevic lost the election.

"That would let the new federal parliament, controlled by Milosevic's allies, to decide when a new presidential election will take place.

"It is leaving him in power for a few months more. He is buying time here."

Dragor Hibir, who was at one point on the Federal Electoral Commission as an opposition representative, said it could mean any of three things.

"It could mean cancelling the first round, cancelling part of the vote in Kosovo, or only be related to the work of the federal electoral commission."

The announcement did not make clear which part of the vote, which the opposition says was rigged to favour Milosevic, had been annulled.

Legal experts from the opposition bloc backing Milosevic's rival Vojislav Kostunica said it did not give enough detail to establish what the possible consequences might be.

"The Federal Constitutional Court, after a public debate, unanimously decided ... to annul a part of the election procedure for the election of the president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia which relates to voting, establishing and publishing results of the ballot from September 24, 2000," the state-run Tanjug news agency said.

Tanjug said later the court's decision was still being written and could be expected to be published in detail on Thursday. "Then all details of the unanimous decision will be known."

Nenad Milic, the head of the opposition bloc's legal team, said the complaint it had lodged with the court concerned the results from the two towns where votes from the province of Kosovo -- now under international control -- were counted.

The opposition also complained about the decision to hold a second ballot between Milosevic and Kostunica on October 8. The opposition insists Kostunica won outright in the first round.

Milic stressed that they had not asked for a revote. He said he could not comment further on the court's ruling before he got it, but added that if the voting was included it would mean only people from Kosovo should vote again in these two units which "is difficult to carry out in practice."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Yugoslavia annuls election result
October 4, 2000
Milosevic defies Yugoslav protests
October 2, 2000
Yugoslav election body orders second round of elections
September 27, 2000

Federal Republic of Yugoslavis
Democratic Party of Yugoslavia
Socialist Party of Serbia

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