Belgraders dismissed the official announcement of a second-round run-off in the presidential race and prepared to attend a victory rally later Wednesday for the opposition candidate Vojislav Kostunica.
"No way my friend! We are not stupid anymore," said presenter Dragan Ilic ahead of the next news broadcast on the private station, Radio Index.
The station, one of the few not to have followed the official line, has experienced frequent jamming since Monday, when the opposition started announcing results indicating victory Kostunica.
The station opened its airwaves to the listeners to comment on the announcement late Tuesday from the official electoral commission.
It had announced that while Kostunica had won a first-round victory, it was not enough for an outright win, and he would have to go to a second round with the incumbent Slobodan Milosevic, who had come second in the vote.
"Out of 25 people who called in 30 minutes, 24 were against the run-off," said Ilic.
"And the one who voted for the second round, said it should be held just to humiliate them more," he added.
The outcome of the elections has been the only topic of discussion in Belgrade.
Four teenagers discussing the latest news outside a central Belgrade high school, exchanged photocopies of the latest news published on the Internet site of the government-banned independent radio B292.
"This was my first vote, and we managed to get rid of the communists," 18-year-old Marko told his friends.
But his girlfriend Janja warned: "It is not over yet, we should be very careful."
Opposition activists focused their pre-electoral campaign on the hundreds of thousands of young voters.
They were counting on growing hostility to the regime provoked by years of poor living standards and increasing repression on those who fail to follow the official line.
The teenagers said they were looking forward to the opposition rally announced for later Wednesday. "It will be the final proof that the whole of Belgrade voted for a change," said one.
But many still feared that Milosevic's regime would not recognize what the opposition supporters believe was a clear win for their candidate Vojislav Kostunica.
"I still don't dare to believe," said 37-year-old Tanja Kostic.
"They have been holding on power for too long, the stakes are extremely high for them," she added.
At a central Belgrade newsstand, there was not a single copy of any private or independent newspaper left.
"People are buying two or three copies of each," said Ana, the stall holder.
"But if you want, I have dozens of Politika's and Borba's issues," she said, pointing to the pro-governmental dailies whose front pages announced a run-off of the presidential vote.
"Kostunica is the winner -- there is no second round of vote," was the front-page headline on the independent daily Blic.
Danas, another independent daily, gave the same message on its front page, together with a photo of an opposition supporter with a placard reading: "He Is Finished."
At the Kalenic market, 68-year old Vidosav Ratkovic told his old-time friend Slavoljub: "It is not over yet, but something is changing."
"We should just be very careful," he warned.
Slavoljub, who boasted that all his family members and relatives have voted for the opposition, also called for "patience."
"This was like an earthquake, nothing can stop further erosion," Slavoljub pointed out.
"They can try to steal, they can try to manipulate, but they are doomed to disaster, finally," he said -- BELGRADE (AFP) -
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
