5th October Overthrow
Encyclopedia
A series of events occurred in 2000 in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, following the presidential elections
and culminating in the downfall of Slobodan Milošević
's regime on 5 October 2000. It is sometimes referred to as the '5 October Overthrow' and sometimes colloquially called the 'Bager revolucija', translated into English as Bulldozer Revolution, after one of the most memorable episodes from the day long protest in which an engineering vehicle operator Ljubisav Đokić fired up his engine (which was actually neither bulldozer
nor an excavator
– "bager" in Serbian – but a wheel loader
), and used it to charge the RTS
building.
Milosevic's popular support was declining even in 1998, when a dozen students met to form Otpor, Serbian for "resistance." Analyzing the mistakes of 1996-97, they realized they needed much better organization, a strategy, planning, recruiting, and all the other ingredients necessary for a sustained fight. Galvanized by outrage over new laws that imposed political control of their universities and harassed the independent media, the Otpor students called for the removal of Milosevic and the establishment of democracy and the rule of law.
Prior to this, Milošević was cracking down on opposition, non-government organizations and independent media. From 1991 onwards there were campaigns of civil resistance
against his regime that were to culminate in the largely non-violent revolution of October 2000. As the end of his first term in office of the president of Yugoslavia approached (he had previously been elected president of Serbia
in two terms, from 1990 to 1997), on 6 July 2000, the rules of the election of the president were changed. Whilst the president of Yugoslavia had previously been chosen for one term only by the legislature, in the Yugoslav parliament, it was now to be directly elected via the two-round voting system
of presidential elections with a maximum of two terms. Many onlookers believed that Milošević's intentions for supporting such reforms had more to do with keeping his own power than with improved democracy. On 27 July 2000, the authorities announced that the early elections
were to be held 24 September 2000, although Milošević's term wouldn't expire until June 2001. The elections for the upper house of the federal parliament, Council of Citizens (Veće građana), as well as the local elections were also scheduled to be held on the same date.
Soon after the announcement, the anti-regime youth movement Otpor
led the campaign to topple the regime and bring in a more democratic one. To have a unified opposition, eighteen opposition parties in Serbia formed the Democratic Opposition of Serbia
(DOS) coalition, with Vojislav Koštunica
as the candidate to confront Milošević. Apart from this, two major opposition parties, Serbian Radical Party
and Serbian Renewal Movement
also had their candidates (Tomislav Nikolić
and Vojislav Mihailović
, respectively), but the main battle of the elections was the one between Milošević and Koštunica. The election campaign lasted for about two months, and was extremely tense, with numerous incidents, accusations of treason, independent media shutdowns and even murders. On 25 August 2000, one month before elections, Ivan Stambolić
, former president of the Presidency of Serbia, and Milošević associate turned DOS supporter, was kidnapped and murdered by Special Operations Unit officers. In 2005, the court found that the order for Stambolić's assassination came from Milošević.
won over half of the votes. The regime-controlled Federal Electoral Committee claimed that no candidate won over 50% of the votes and that a second round between Koštunica and Milošević would take place. The vote was largely boycotted in Montenegro
and by Kosovo
Albanians. Yet, Milošević officially won by large margin in these parts of the country. This obvious discrepancy and numerous irregularities made the accusations of a systematic election fraud stronger and have led DOS to call for peaceful protest to topple the regime.
Some obvious irregularities could be found in the Federal Electoral Committee official results. For example, the sum of the numbers of valid and invalid votes wasn't equal to the number of voters; the sum of the numbers of the voters voting at the polling station
s and the voters voting at home exceeded the total number of voters; the sum of the numbers of the used and the unused ballot papers was short by 117,244 in comparison to the number of eligible voters, the number of eligible voters was different from the one announced before the elections and has differed in the presidential, federal and local elections results, etc. All of these discrepancies provoked massive outrage. The results were declared false immediately after Milošević was overthrown and the new official results were declared shortly afterwards. The new results were practically the same, except for the number of total votes and the votes for Milošević, both of which were lower by 125,000–130,000 votes, thus making Koštunica an absolute first-round election winner.
's electricity needs. The protest reached its height on 5 October 2000. Several hundred thousand protesters from all over Serbia arrived in Belgrade
to protest. Unlike previous protests, there was no large scale police crackdown. The parliament was partially burned during the protests.
The protest is frequently named the "Bulldozer Revolution" after one of the most memorable episodes from the day long protest in which an engineering vehicle operator Ljubisav Đokić nicknamed Joe fired up his engine (actually neither an excavator nor bulldozer but a wheel loader
, the event name is inaccurate out of convenience) and used it to charge the RTS
building. Its tenant, Serbian state television RTS, had for a decade been a symbol and bastion of Milošević's rule. When the RTS
studios were taken over, the station was quickly renamed "Novi RTS" ("New RTS") as a sign that the regime had lost power.
Although the protest was mostly peaceful, without a larger escalation of violence, two people died. Jasmina Jovanović fell under a wheel loader or, according to other sources, a truck, and Momčilo Stakić succumbed to a fatal heart attack. 65 persons were injured in the riots.
In the time between elections and the protest, Milošević said that he would gladly resign but only when his term expired in June of the following year. Due to pressure caused by the protests, Milošević resigned on 7 October 2000.
in December, where they achieved a two-thirds majority. On 1 April 2001, Milošević was arrested by Serbian police and was subsequently transferred to The Hague
to be prosecuted by the ICTY. He died in his cell
on 11 March 2006, few months before his trial's conclusion.
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia presidential election, 2000
Presidential elections were held in Yugoslavia on 24 September 2000. They were won by Vojislav Koštunica of the Democratic Opposition, who beat Slobodan Milošević in the first round of voting.-Results:...
and culminating in the downfall of Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
's regime on 5 October 2000. It is sometimes referred to as the '5 October Overthrow' and sometimes colloquially called the 'Bager revolucija', translated into English as Bulldozer Revolution, after one of the most memorable episodes from the day long protest in which an engineering vehicle operator Ljubisav Đokić fired up his engine (which was actually neither bulldozer
Bulldozer
A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,...
nor an excavator
Excavator
Excavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, stick, bucket and cab on a rotating platform . The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. A cable-operated excavator uses winches and steel ropes to accomplish the movements. They are a natural progression from the...
– "bager" in Serbian – but a wheel loader
Loader (equipment)
A loader is a heavy equipment machine often used in construction, primarily used to load material into or onto another type of machinery .-Heavy equipment front loaders:A loader A loader is a heavy equipment machine often used in construction, primarily used to load material (such as asphalt,...
), and used it to charge the RTS
Radio Television of Serbia
Radio Television of Serbia or Serbian Broadcasting Corporation is the public broadcaster in Serbia. It broadcasts and produces a variety of news, drama, and sports programming through radio, television and the Internet. RTS is, since July 2001, a member of the European Broadcasting Union. RTS is...
building.
Events preceding the elections
While Milosevic's overthrow was widely reported as a spontaneous revolution, most of the world's news organizations missed the real story - a year-long battle involving thousands of Serbs in a calculated strategy to strip the tyrant of his legitimacy, turn his own police and army against him, and force him to call for elections, which he lost and then tried to steal..Milosevic's popular support was declining even in 1998, when a dozen students met to form Otpor, Serbian for "resistance." Analyzing the mistakes of 1996-97, they realized they needed much better organization, a strategy, planning, recruiting, and all the other ingredients necessary for a sustained fight. Galvanized by outrage over new laws that imposed political control of their universities and harassed the independent media, the Otpor students called for the removal of Milosevic and the establishment of democracy and the rule of law.
Prior to this, Milošević was cracking down on opposition, non-government organizations and independent media. From 1991 onwards there were campaigns of civil resistance
Civil resistance
The term civil resistance, alongside the term nonviolent resistance, is used to describe political action that relies on the use of non-violent methods by civil groups to challenge a particular power, force, policy or regime. Civil resistance operates through appeals to the adversary, pressure and...
against his regime that were to culminate in the largely non-violent revolution of October 2000. As the end of his first term in office of the president of Yugoslavia approached (he had previously been elected president of Serbia
President of Serbia
The President of Serbia is the head of state of Serbia. Presently serving as the head of state is Boris Tadić. He was elected with a narrow majority of 50.31% in the 2008 Serbian presidential elections.-Authority, legal and constitutional rights:...
in two terms, from 1990 to 1997), on 6 July 2000, the rules of the election of the president were changed. Whilst the president of Yugoslavia had previously been chosen for one term only by the legislature, in the Yugoslav parliament, it was now to be directly elected via the two-round voting system
Two-round system
The two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
of presidential elections with a maximum of two terms. Many onlookers believed that Milošević's intentions for supporting such reforms had more to do with keeping his own power than with improved democracy. On 27 July 2000, the authorities announced that the early elections
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia presidential election, 2000
Presidential elections were held in Yugoslavia on 24 September 2000. They were won by Vojislav Koštunica of the Democratic Opposition, who beat Slobodan Milošević in the first round of voting.-Results:...
were to be held 24 September 2000, although Milošević's term wouldn't expire until June 2001. The elections for the upper house of the federal parliament, Council of Citizens (Veće građana), as well as the local elections were also scheduled to be held on the same date.
Soon after the announcement, the anti-regime youth movement Otpor
Otpor
Otpor! was a civic youth movement that existed as such from 1998 until 2003 in Serbia , employing nonviolent struggle against the regime of Slobodan Milošević as their course of action. In the course of two-year nonviolent struggle against Milosevic, Otpor spread across Serbia and attracted more...
led the campaign to topple the regime and bring in a more democratic one. To have a unified opposition, eighteen opposition parties in Serbia formed the Democratic Opposition of Serbia
Democratic Opposition of Serbia
The Democratic Opposition of Serbia was a wide alliance of political parties in Serbia , formed as a coalition against the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia and its leader, Slobodan Milošević in 2000...
(DOS) coalition, with Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica is a Serbian politician, statesman and the president of the Democratic Party of Serbia. He was the last President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, succeeding Slobodan Milošević and serving from 2000 to 2003...
as the candidate to confront Milošević. Apart from this, two major opposition parties, Serbian Radical Party
Serbian Radical Party
The Serbian Radical Party is a far-right Serbian nationalist political party in Serbia, founded in 1991. Currently the second-largest party in the Serbian National Assembly, it has branches in three of the nations that currently border Serbia – all former federal republics of Yugoslavia...
and Serbian Renewal Movement
Serbian Renewal Movement
The Serbian Renewal Movement is a political party in Serbia.It was founded in 1990.In 1997 a dissident group abandoned the party and formed New Serbia....
also had their candidates (Tomislav Nikolić
Tomislav Nikolic
Tomislav "Toma" Nikolić is a Serbian politician, President of the Serbian Progressive Party. He is also a former member of the Serbian Radical Party, where he served as Deputy Leader of the party and parliamentary leader during the absence of Vojislav Šešelj...
and Vojislav Mihailović
Vojislav Mihailovic
Vojislav Mihailović is a Serbian politician, former Mayor of Belgrade and currently a co-president of the Serbian Democratic Renewal Movement....
, respectively), but the main battle of the elections was the one between Milošević and Koštunica. The election campaign lasted for about two months, and was extremely tense, with numerous incidents, accusations of treason, independent media shutdowns and even murders. On 25 August 2000, one month before elections, Ivan Stambolić
Ivan Stambolic
Ivan Stambolić was a Communist Party of Yugoslavia official and the President of the Republic of Serbia in the 1980s who was later victim of an assassination....
, former president of the Presidency of Serbia, and Milošević associate turned DOS supporter, was kidnapped and murdered by Special Operations Unit officers. In 2005, the court found that the order for Stambolić's assassination came from Milošević.
Elections
The vote took place on 24 September 2000. The DOS coalition reported that Vojislav KoštunicaVojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica is a Serbian politician, statesman and the president of the Democratic Party of Serbia. He was the last President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, succeeding Slobodan Milošević and serving from 2000 to 2003...
won over half of the votes. The regime-controlled Federal Electoral Committee claimed that no candidate won over 50% of the votes and that a second round between Koštunica and Milošević would take place. The vote was largely boycotted in Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
and by Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
Albanians. Yet, Milošević officially won by large margin in these parts of the country. This obvious discrepancy and numerous irregularities made the accusations of a systematic election fraud stronger and have led DOS to call for peaceful protest to topple the regime.
Some obvious irregularities could be found in the Federal Electoral Committee official results. For example, the sum of the numbers of valid and invalid votes wasn't equal to the number of voters; the sum of the numbers of the voters voting at the polling station
Polling station
A polling place or polling station is where voters cast their ballots in elections.Since elections generally take place over a one- or two-day span on a periodic basis, often annual or longer, polling places are often located in facilities used for other purposes, such as schools, churches, sports...
s and the voters voting at home exceeded the total number of voters; the sum of the numbers of the used and the unused ballot papers was short by 117,244 in comparison to the number of eligible voters, the number of eligible voters was different from the one announced before the elections and has differed in the presidential, federal and local elections results, etc. All of these discrepancies provoked massive outrage. The results were declared false immediately after Milošević was overthrown and the new official results were declared shortly afterwards. The new results were practically the same, except for the number of total votes and the votes for Milošević, both of which were lower by 125,000–130,000 votes, thus making Koštunica an absolute first-round election winner.
| Official results (28 September 2000) | Official results (10 October 2000) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Nominator | Votes | % | Votes | % |
| Vojislav Koštunica Vojislav Koštunica Vojislav Koštunica is a Serbian politician, statesman and the president of the Democratic Party of Serbia. He was the last President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, succeeding Slobodan Milošević and serving from 2000 to 2003... |
Democratic Opposition of Serbia Democratic Opposition of Serbia The Democratic Opposition of Serbia was a wide alliance of political parties in Serbia , formed as a coalition against the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia and its leader, Slobodan Milošević in 2000... |
2,474,392 | 48.96 | 2,470,304 | 50.24 |
| Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000... |
Socialist Party of Serbia Socialist Party of Serbia The Socialist Party of Serbia is officially a democratic socialist political party in Serbia. It is also widely recognized as a de facto Serbian nationalist party, though the party itself does not officially acknowledge this... |
1,951,761 | 38.62 | 1,826,799 | 37.15 |
| Tomislav Nikolić Tomislav Nikolic Tomislav "Toma" Nikolić is a Serbian politician, President of the Serbian Progressive Party. He is also a former member of the Serbian Radical Party, where he served as Deputy Leader of the party and parliamentary leader during the absence of Vojislav Šešelj... |
Serbian Radical Party Serbian Radical Party The Serbian Radical Party is a far-right Serbian nationalist political party in Serbia, founded in 1991. Currently the second-largest party in the Serbian National Assembly, it has branches in three of the nations that currently border Serbia – all former federal republics of Yugoslavia... |
292,759 | 5.79 | 289,013 | 5.88 |
| Vojislav Mihailović Vojislav Mihailovic Vojislav Mihailović is a Serbian politician, former Mayor of Belgrade and currently a co-president of the Serbian Democratic Renewal Movement.... |
Serbian Renewal Movement Serbian Renewal Movement The Serbian Renewal Movement is a political party in Serbia.It was founded in 1990.In 1997 a dissident group abandoned the party and formed New Serbia.... |
146,585 | 2.90 | 145,019 | 2.95 |
| Miodrag Vidojković | Affirmative Party | 46,421 | 0.92 | 45,964 | 0.93 |
| Total valid votes (Percentage of total votes) | 4,911,918 | 97.20 | 4,778,929 | 97.19 | |
| Invalid votes (Percentage of total votes) | 135,371 | 2.68 | 137,991 | 2.81 | |
| Total votes (Turnout) | 5,053,428 | 69.70 | 4,916,920 | 71.55 | |
| Eligible voters | 7,249,831 | / | 6,871,595 | / | |
Protests and the overthrow
The protest initially started with strikers at the Kolubara mines, which produce most of SerbiaSerbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
's electricity needs. The protest reached its height on 5 October 2000. Several hundred thousand protesters from all over Serbia arrived in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
to protest. Unlike previous protests, there was no large scale police crackdown. The parliament was partially burned during the protests.
The protest is frequently named the "Bulldozer Revolution" after one of the most memorable episodes from the day long protest in which an engineering vehicle operator Ljubisav Đokić nicknamed Joe fired up his engine (actually neither an excavator nor bulldozer but a wheel loader
Loader (equipment)
A loader is a heavy equipment machine often used in construction, primarily used to load material into or onto another type of machinery .-Heavy equipment front loaders:A loader A loader is a heavy equipment machine often used in construction, primarily used to load material (such as asphalt,...
, the event name is inaccurate out of convenience) and used it to charge the RTS
Radio Television of Serbia
Radio Television of Serbia or Serbian Broadcasting Corporation is the public broadcaster in Serbia. It broadcasts and produces a variety of news, drama, and sports programming through radio, television and the Internet. RTS is, since July 2001, a member of the European Broadcasting Union. RTS is...
building. Its tenant, Serbian state television RTS, had for a decade been a symbol and bastion of Milošević's rule. When the RTS
Radio Television of Serbia
Radio Television of Serbia or Serbian Broadcasting Corporation is the public broadcaster in Serbia. It broadcasts and produces a variety of news, drama, and sports programming through radio, television and the Internet. RTS is, since July 2001, a member of the European Broadcasting Union. RTS is...
studios were taken over, the station was quickly renamed "Novi RTS" ("New RTS") as a sign that the regime had lost power.
Although the protest was mostly peaceful, without a larger escalation of violence, two people died. Jasmina Jovanović fell under a wheel loader or, according to other sources, a truck, and Momčilo Stakić succumbed to a fatal heart attack. 65 persons were injured in the riots.
In the time between elections and the protest, Milošević said that he would gladly resign but only when his term expired in June of the following year. Due to pressure caused by the protests, Milošević resigned on 7 October 2000.
Aftermath
A DOS victory was guaranteed in parliamentary electionsSerbian parliamentary election, 2000
The first free democratic parliamentary election after the fall of Slobodan Milošević was held in the Republic of Serbia on 23 December 2000.-Results:...
in December, where they achieved a two-thirds majority. On 1 April 2001, Milošević was arrested by Serbian police and was subsequently transferred to The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
to be prosecuted by the ICTY. He died in his cell
Death of Slobodan Miloševic
On 11 March 2006, former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević died in his cell, apparently from a heart attack, while being tried for war crimes at the ICTY in The Hague, which was a major political event, especially for Serbia and Russia. Milošević died a few months before the verdict was due for...
on 11 March 2006, few months before his trial's conclusion.
Further reading
- Pavol Demes and Joerg Forbrig (eds.). Reclaiming Democracy: Civil Society and Electoral Change in Central and Eastern Europe. German Marshall Fund, 2007.