The Yugoslav leadership yesterday set presidential, parliamentary and local elections for September 24th in an apparent bid by President Slobodan Milosevic to secure his grip on power for years to come.
In the first of a series of separate but clearly co-ordinated announcements, the state Tanjug news agency said Mr Milosevic had called parliamentary elections for that date.
Shortly afterwards, the speaker of the Yugoslav parliament's lower house called presidential elections for the same day. Local elections in Serbia, the dominant republic in the federation, would also be held on that date under an announcement by the speaker of Serbia's parliament.
European leaders at last week's G8 summit said the international community should not recognise any Yugoslav election results based on the controversial new rules Mr Milosevic pushed through earlier this month.
The Serbian opposition leader, Mr Zoran Djindjic of the Democratic Party, said he was optimistic ahead of the elections. A victory for the opposition would bring a democratic Serbia "to a place in the world which had always belonged to us", he said.
However, the Western-leaning leadership of Montenegro has said it would not take part in federal elections held under the new rules.
The Serb opposition leader Mr Vuk Draskovic said his Serbian Renewal Movement would not take part in the parliamentary and presidential elections without the participation of Montenegro. However, he left the door open for participation in municipal elections in Serbia, where his party holds power in several towns, including the capital Belgrade, in coalition with other opposition groups.