Are They Ready?

by Zoran B. Nikolic

How are the leading political parties preparing for the coming parliamentary elections? VREME asked Danica Draskovic, head of the SPO central election staff, Aleksandar Vucic, vice-president of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS), Goran Svilanovic, spokesman for the Serbian Civil Alliance (GSS), Milenko Nikic, head of the Democratic Party (DS) election staff, and Milos Aligrudic, head of the Serbian Democratic Party (DSS) election staff. The first two parties will stand in the elections and the other three will campaign for the boycott

Election Campaign

SPO: Engaged a French agency which has drafted a presidential campaign plan and a strategy for the parliamentary elections. Local agencies also providing staff.

SRS: No firm campaign plans. The SRS says that the only plans that can be made are for the accents for the campaign, whether it will be positive, negative, fair or not. The SRS will wage a positive campaign.

GSS: No agency has been engaged, and probably won’t be, but agencies are consulted about certain things. The GSS can’t afford to pay an agency for the entire campaign. The GSS believes that a door to door campaign provides the best results.

DS: No agency hired so far. The party has many creative people engaged anonomously.

DSS: No agency. The campaign is limited to efforts to explain why people should not turn out to vote. The campaign is mainly based on newspaper ads and printed material.

Election Staff

SPO: The central election staff works on technical organization. Local election staffs are organized by electoral districts and are completely autonomous, turning to the central staff and party presidency only if they need help.

SRS: The campaign is being conducted through the official party organization.

GSS: The party executive board, headed by Dragor Hubert, is turning into the election staff.

DS: A central election staff covers all of Serbia. There is a city election staff in Belgrade and 40 local staffpeople in the rest of Serbia. They were formed into two teams in the past six months, which visited all DS local boards. One team assessed their political strength, the other their equipment. The 40 staffs were not formed by electoral districts.

Media Appearances

SPO: A number of appearances by Vuk Draskovic on local TV stations have been planned. Draskovic has been appearing on local TV stations for a month and has toured all of Serbia. The central TV will be used, according to the law, in shows for the presentation of presidential candidates.

SRS: Reaching agreement on the appearance of party chiefs on local TV and radio stations as the main point of the campaign. In some places this is free of charge, in some places it is expensive.

DS: Time has been bought on 32 local TV stations so far.

DSS: Paid radio ads will come later in the campaign. The DSS probably won’t have access to most TV stations.

Gatherings

SPO: Conventional rallies with a slightly more formal approach in the style of US or British election conventions.

SRS: Rallies are attended mainly by people who vote for the SRS anyway. Tribunals in villages by Tomislav Nikolic and Vucic.

DS: Tribunals and bigger gatherings in towns and cities. Campaign starts in Nis.

DSS: Planning 20-25 tribunals in cities, starting August 28.

Opinion Polls

SPO: Engaged agency also does opinion polls.

SRS: None ordered, because that’s expansive and few people know how to do them.

GSS: None ordered.

DS: Some offers were made, but those polls are not realistic. The election staff includes a group of analysts working on the results of elections to date.

Funds

SPO: Campaign to date has cost about one million dinars and should cost that much more. Financed mainly through donations. Each electoral unit and candidate for MP finance their own campaign. The party finances the central part and some costs are paid for by Srpska Rec magazine.

SRS: Finances come from membership dues and donations. Annual membership is five dinars which amounts to a lot because of the party’s many members. No idea how much this campaign will cost, but the previous election cost 300,000 DEM.

GSS: Polled members and sympathizers about contributions. No idea how much campaign will cost.

DS: Surprised by the higher response of sponsors than in previous campaigns. Donations are mainly in-kind. Local party boards have a free hand in the campaign.

DSS: No idea how much the campaign will cost, but efforts are being made not to waste money.

Obstructing the Elections

GSS: Those ideas came before the SPO decided to stand in the elections. Now that would mean that in places where Zajedno is in power, the DS would be preventing the SPO from voting and no one will accept that. The idea of a technical obstruction of the elections was valid only until the SPO decided to turn out.

DS: If you want the sympathy of the West and of the undecided voters, you have to abide by the law. Nothing will be done outside the law.

DSS: Obstruction of the election process is not necessary.