A massive crowd gathered in Belgrade's Republic Square last night to celebrate the opposition victory in the capital's municipal election.
The rally comes as results for Yugoslavia's historic presidential election remain contested by both sides. But a massive turnout of 75 per cent for Sunday's poll has lent credence to opposition claims of success for its candidate, Dr Vojislav Kostunica.
The battle for Belgrade was always viewed as a crucial part of President Slobodan Milosevic's attempt to maintain power. His regime lost the capital four years ago and sought in the weekend elections to regain it.
But as in many other local authorities up and down the country, voters backed the opposition, and yesterday three top regime officials officially conceded defeat at local government level.
The final presidential poll results are not yet reported, and what has emerged is contested. According to the Democratic Opposition of Serbia, Dr Kostunica has 55 per cent to 34 per cent for Mr Milosevic.
According to the regime, Mr Milsoevic received 45 per cent and Dr Kostunica 40 per cent, with only part of the vote counted. The regime claims success in the federal elections.
The situation with the presidential results will become clearer today when the Federal Election Commission, which oversees the poll, reports on its official count.
A top Socialist official, Ms Gorica Gajevic, said the party remained optimistic about the presidential results. "It clearly shows a tendency that we can be optimistic about the rest of the results and the probability that our candidate, Slobodan Milosevic, will win in the first round," she said.
But few analysts expect Mr Milosevic to claim outright victory in the face of such a high turnout and massive local government losses.
Mr Milosevic has also lost the support of the nationalist Serbian Radical Party of Mr Vojislav Selselj, which has until now shared power with the Socialist Party.
It was in government with the Socialist and Yugoslav Left Party but now appears to have changed sides and, while not explicitly backing Dr Kostunica, the party is publishing figures on the presidential poll that match those of the opposition parties. Its members are also criticising Mr Milosevic for voting fraud.
On the square in Belgrade last night, the confusion and counterclaims about presidential results were forgotten in a mass of goodnatured celebration. The new Belgrade mayor, Mr Milan St Protic, an academic and opposition party leader, addressed the crowd.
Several highly popular bands played, including The Drummers, a group of youngsters who cut their teeth as musicians during the winter demonstrations against Mr Milosevic four years ago.
Reuters adds:
Yugoslavs expressed hope that change was in the air after 13 years of iron-fisted rule by Milosevic.
Dr Kostunica, presented to reporters as Yugoslavia's new president, was asked what he would do if Mr Milosevic did not recognise an opposition victory.
He said he would not give up, but did not support violence.
"The numbers speak for us. We will fight in democratic ways. The truth is our strongest weapon. We don't want to provoke internal tensions and foreign intervention," he said.
The German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroder, said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed Yugoslav voters appeared to have voted for democratic change in the elections. Mr Schroder also said after talks in Moscow that the election could serve as a "stabilising factor" in the Balkans.
The German Foreign Minister, Dr Joschka Fischer, said the opposition had won not only the presidency but also the parliament. Montenegro's pro-Western government said Mr Milosevic had lost and it was time for him to go.
The chorus of calls for Mr Milosevic to accept defeat seemed orchestrated to forestall the massive vote-rigging that Western powers warned to expect if he felt threatened.
The EU said in a joint statement that any claim from Mr Milosevic that he had won would be a fraud. France said the anti-Milosevic trend was unstoppable.
The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which was barred from vetting the poll, said all available information pointed to a clear lead for Dr Kostunica.