1990 Serbian general election

General elections were held in Serbia, a constituent federal unit of SFR Yugoslavia, in December 1990. The presidential elections and the first round of the parliamentary elections were held on 9 December, whilst a second round of the parliamentary elections was held on 23 December 1990. This was the last parliamentary election in Serbia where members were elected in single-member constituency seats by a two-round voting system; all subsequent elections have taken place under proportional representation.

Post-World War II
After World War II, the Communist Party consolidated power in Yugoslavia, transforming the country into a socialist state. Each constituent republic had its own branch of the Communist party, with Serbia having the Communist Party of Serbia. The federal Communist party renamed itself the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ) at its 6th Congress in 1952. Its branches did the same; the Communist Party of Serbia became the League of Communists of Serbia (SKS). With the death of Josip Broz Tito, the leader of Yugoslavia, in 1980, the country was faced with economic issues, constitutional problems, and a rise in ethnic nationalism.

Within Serbia, Slobodan Milošević came to power at the 8th Session in September 1987. Milošević served as the president of the City Committee of SKS in Belgrade until being appointed president of SKS in May 1986, upon the proposal of his mentor Ivan Stambolić, a reformist within SKS. Milošević turned populist in April 1987 and then became a critic of Stambolić. Milošević dismissed Stambolić's allies at the 8th Session, and in December 1987, Stambolić was removed from his role as president of Serbia. With Milošević in power, protests supporting Milošević's policies, known as the anti-bureaucratic revolution, started in Serbia and Montenegro in 1988. Following the protests, the leadership in Montenegro, Vojvodina, and Kosovo was overthrown by the pro-Milošević faction.

Milošević was named president of the presidency of the Socialist Republic of Serbia in May 1989, after being nominated to the position by the Socialist Alliance of Working People of Serbia. In response to his appointment, general elections were announced for November 1989. Milošević won the election in a landslide, officially being elected president of the presidency of the SR Serbia. These would be the last one-party elections in Serbia. Stanko Radmilović, a Milošević loyalist, became the prime minister of Serbia after the elections.

In January 1990, an SKJ extraordinary congress was held to address the dispute over Milošević's centralisation reforms and reforms of the Federal Assembly of Yugoslavia. During the congress, SKS proposed implementing a "one man–one vote" system, which was opposed by the Slovene delegation, who favoured confederated Yugoslavia. Milošević fiercely opposed to confederalism. With the assistance of delegates from Montenegro, Vojvodina, Kosovo, and the Yugoslav People's Army, the proposals from SKS were accepted, while the Slovene and Bosnian proposals were rejected. This ultimately led to the dissolution of SKJ shortly after the congress.

Constitutional referendum
Milošević suddenly announced on 25 June 1990 in the Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Serbia that a constitutional referendum would take place on 1 and 2 July, to determine the new constitution of Serbia. The referendum was held during a crisis in Kosovo. As reported by Zoran Sokolović, the president of the Assembly of SR Serbia, in the Official Gazette, the proposal was recommended by the presidency of SR Serbia and members of the Assembly of SR Serbia.

In response to the announcement, a protest was organised at the building of Radio Television of Belgrade (RTB), condemning the referendum and state controlled media. Vojislav Šešelj, the leader of the Serbian Chetnik Movement (SČP), gave a speech critical of the government during the protest. Opposition political parties called for the referendum to be postponed after the first multi-party elections and called on their supporters to boycott the referendum if the demand was not met. Before the announcement, the government had previously rejected holding elections in 1990. Milošević also opposed the introduction of a multi-party system before the announcement.

The state media labelled those opposing the referendum as "anti-Serbian" and "pro-Albanian". The results published by the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) on 5 July showed that the referendum passed. On the same day, the government of Serbia dissolved the Assembly of SAP Kosovo and its government. This was done in response to the proclamation of the Republic of Kosova three days prior. The newly-adopted constitution effectively abolished the autonomy that SAP Kosovo had. "They tried to declare Kosovo a republic and by that they endangered Serbia and Yugoslavia", Sokolović said. This move was condemned by Amnesty International and the European Parliament. The constitution went into effect on 28 September, establishing a semi-presidential system in Serbia. Opposition parties criticised the constitution due to the high amount of powers that were given to the president of Serbia.

Electoral system
The electoral system of Serbia was amended with the adoption of a new referendum. The 250 members of the National Assembly of Serbia were elected by a first-past-the-post, two-round voting system from 250 constituencies. All subsequent elections in Serbia have been conducted under a proportional representation system. The territory of a constituency either included several local communities (mesna zajednica), populated places (naseljena mesta), or a single municipality. Eligible voters were able to vote for only one candidate in the constituency that they resided in. A candidate could have been proposed by one or more political parties or other political organisations if they had collected at least 100 valid signatures from constituency residents, or the candidate could have been proposed by a citizens group (grupa građana) instead. A citizens group, according to the law in 1990, is a political designation used to determine a group of 100 citizens bound by an agreement willing to take part in an election. The candidate was submitted to RIK by its proposer. The candidate could have been declined, after which the deficiencies had to be fixed in a span of 48 hours if the candidate was to be re-submitted to RIK. The symbol of a constituency, the name of the election, and a list of candidates that ran in the constituency were present on the voting ballot. In the first round, a candidate is elected if it received at least 50% of the popular vote, while in the second round the candidate with the most votes wins.

Regarding presidential elections, a candidate could have been any resident of Serbia that was proposed by one or more political parties, political organisations, or a citizens group. A candidate was elected if it received a majority of all votes cast and if at least half of all voters took part in the election. If no candidate won a majority of all votes cast, the second round had to be held in the next fifteen days. In the second round, at least two candidates who received the most votes take part. An election was considered valid if the turnout was at least 50%; a new election in scheduled in case of a lower turnout. The newly-established position of the president of Serbia was not ceremonial, instead it had significant powers and served as part of the executive branch of the government.

RIK, local election commissions, and the polling boards of constituencies have overseen elections in Serbia. At the time of the election, Časlav Ignjatović served as the president of RIK. Parliamentary and presidential elections were called by the president of the National Assembly, who also had to announce their dates. Regarding the 1990 election, the presidential and parliamentary elections were called by Sokolović on 28 September for 9 December. In the case of runoffs, the second round of the parliamentary election was scheduled for 23 December. According to the law, a parliamentary election is held every four years, though it is possible for a snap election to take place. If a snap election occurs, then the president of Serbia has to call the election, considering that the president also has to dissolve the National Assembly. A presidential election is called every five years.

The campaign for an election could have lasted between 30 and 90 days. To vote, a person had to be a citizen, able to perform working duties, and be at least 18 years old. For those in the military, they could have voted at military establishments. Voting also took place in hospitals, nursing homes, and police barracks. During the election day, eligible voters could have voted from 07:00 (UTC+01:00) to 20:00 at a voting station in their constituency. Voters who were either blind, disabled, or illiterate could have brought a relative to vote on their behalf at a voting station. This was the first multi-party election in Serbia since 1938. The elections between 1931 and 1938 were, however, not anonymous, while between 1921 and 1929, women and illiterate men were barred from voting.

Signatures dispute
Shortly before the adoption of the new constitution and the news laws, both proposed election laws, the Law on Constituencies for the Election of People's Deputies and the Law on the Election of the President of the Republic, stated that a much higher number of collected signatures was needed in order to submit candidates; for the parliamentary election, the number was 500, while for the presidential election, the number was 10,000. This was strongly opposed by opposition parties; they claimed that this would effectively bar them from participating in the elections. The opposition proposed to lower the number of collected signatures that were needed to participate in the elections.

The government accepted the opposition's demand; though while they lowered the number of needed signatures for the parliamentary elections to 100, they also lowered the number of needed signatures for presidential elections to 100. This resulted in 34 candidates submitted for the presidency; 32 candidates were ultimately accepted to participate in the presidential elections.

Political parties
The table below lists political parties elected to the Assembly of SR Serbia after the 1989 parliamentary election. At the time of the 1989 election, Bogdan Trifunović was the president of the presidency of the Central Committee of SKS. During its existence, the Assembly of SR Serbia was divided into the Council of Associated Labour, the Council of Municipalities, and the Socio-Political Council. In the Council of Associated Labour, 134 SKS delegates were elected; in the Council of Municipalities, 84 SKS delegates were elected; and in the Socio-Political Council, 85 SKS delegates were elected.

Parliamentary candidates
The parliamentary election was contested by 1,706 candidates, 81 of whom were women, who were either proposed by a registered political party or citizens groups. In the second round of the parliamentary election, 303 candidates contested the elections. The registry of political parties was created with the adoption of the Law on Political Organisations in July 1990. The first political parties that were put in the registry included the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), the legal successor of SKS, Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), Serbian National Renewal (SNO), Serbian Saint Sava Party, People's Radical Party (NRS), Democratic Party (DS), New Democracy – Movement for Serbia (ND), Democratic Fellowship of Vojvodina Hungarians, Party of Independent Entrepreneurs and Peasants, New Communist Movement, Workers' Party of Yugoslavia, Democratic Forum, Party of Democratic Action (SDA), Movement for the Protection of Human Rights, Alliance of All Serbs of the World, Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina, Independent Democratic Association, Party for Democratic Action, Republican Party, Old Radical Party, People's Party (NS), Green Party (ZS), Democratic Party of Freedom, Liberal Party (LS), Democratic Party (Davidović–Grol), Democratic Political Party Roma, Party of Social Justice, People's Peasant Party (NSS), Serbian Democratic Party, and Party of Yugoslavs. The League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina/Yugoslavia (LSV/J) was also founded during the same period. By the end of the year, 61 parties were registered in Serbia.

At the time of the election, the three main political parties in Serbia were SPS, SPO, and DS. Considering that the SPS was the legal successor of SKS and the Socialist Alliance of Working People of Yugoslavia, SPS gained a large amount of political infrastructure as well as material and financial assets. The merger was described as cosmetic. With such material and with SPS retaining control over major industries, it was able to continue dominating political events in Serbia. Milošević was the president of SPS. DS was formed in December 1989, when a group of intellectuals announced the revival of the interwar Democratic Party. The first leadership election inside DS was contested between Dragoljub Mićunović and Kosta Čavoški. Mićunović and Čavoški held different political views; Mićunović was a liberal and Čavoški was an anti-communist nationalist. Mićunović won the election and led DS in the 1990 parliamentary election. SPO was founded by Vuk Drašković, а writer who gained prominence due to his nationalist-themed books. Drašković was initially affiliated with the Saint Sava Association and later with SNO. A schism inside SNO occurred in March 1990, when president Mirko Jović began attacking Drašković due to his previous membership in SKJ. Due to the schism, Drašković left SNO and, together with Šešelj, formed SPO in the same month. Drašković was also elected its president. SPO was an extreme nationalist party during the 1990 elections, with Drašković being described as a "serious threat" to Milošević. Šešelj left SPO in May 1990 due to failing to reach an agreement on whether to boycott Siniša Kovačević's play Saint Sava. He then formed SČP in June 1990, although it remained an unregistered party; in 1991 SČP became the Serbian Radical Party.

The elections were contested by a large number of public figures. Bata Živojinović, Mihailo Janketić, and Miroslav Ilić contested on behalf of SPS; Bora Todorović and Ljuba Tadić contested on behalf of Union of Reform Forces of Yugoslavia in Serbia (SRSJS); and Svetislav Basara and Gojko Đogo contested on behalf of DS. Vojislav Brajović, Ljubivoje Ršumović, Branko Milićević, and Minja Subota contested the elections on behalf of citizens groups.

The 1990 election was largely boycotted by Kosovo Albanians, 700,000 of whom were registered to vote in the 1990 elections. This allowed SPS to sweep the constituencies in Kosovo; in five constituencies, they ran unopposed. Before the election campaign began, Kosovo Albanians organised protests and strikes that were ultimately suppressed by the government of Serbia. Opposition parties in Kosovo also said that "they would not respect Serbia's new constitution", according to Reuters. Ibrahim Rugova, the president of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), said that "to participate in these elections would mean that we accept the conditions the Serbians have imposed upon us". Kosovo Albanians continued to boycott the elections until 1997.

Presidential candidates
The following list includes candidates who took part in the presidential election. The election was contested by 32 candidates in total, which has remained the record number of candidates in any presidential election in Serbia since then. Ljiljana Ćuić became the first woman to contest a presidential election.


 * Ljuben-Alen Aleksov, proposed by a citizens group
 * Nikola Barović, proposed by a citizens group
 * Miroslav Veselinović, proposed by a citizens group
 * Ratimir Vojvodić, proposed by a citizens group
 * Predrag Vuletić, proposed by the Liberal Party
 * Miodrag Gojković, proposed by the Party of Independent Businessmen "Zapis"
 * Saša Goranci, proposed by a citizens group
 * Ljubomir Grujić, proposed by a citizens group
 * Vuk Drašković, proposed by the Serbian Renewal Movement
 * Ivan Đurić, proposed by the Union of Reform Forces of Yugoslavia in Serbia and Association for Yugoslav Democratic Initiative
 * Tihomir Živanović, proposed by a citizens group
 * Dragan Jovanović, proposed by the Green Party
 * Jovan Koprivica, proposed by a citizens group
 * Tomislav Krsmanović, proposed by the Movement for the Protection of Human Rights
 * Milan Lazarević, proposed by a citizens group
 * Slobodan Milošević, proposed by the Socialist Party of Serbia
 * Slobodan Mitić, proposed by the Alliance of All Serbs of the World
 * Milan Mladenović (philosopher), proposed by a citizens group
 * Čedomir Nešić, proposed by a citizens group
 * Blažo Perović, proposed by the YU Bloc
 * Milorad Radović, proposed by a citizens group
 * Hercen Radonjić, proposed by a citizens'group
 * Slobodan Ranković, proposed by a citizens group
 * Jovan Stojković, proposed by a citizens' group
 * Miomir Tošić, proposed by a citizens group
 * Ljiljana Ćuić, proposed by a citizens group
 * Sulejman Ugljanin, proposed by the Party of Democratic Action from Novi Pazar
 * Živan Haravan, proposed by the Party of Social Justice
 * Velimir Cvetić, proposed by the Social Democratic Party of Yugoslavia
 * Radivoje Šaranac, proposed by the Republican Party
 * Nikola Šećeroski, proposed by a citizens group
 * Vojislav Šešelj, proposed by a citizens group

Campaign
The election campaign began on 28 September, once the elections were called by the president of the National Assembly. Bojan Klačar of the Centre for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID) said that "SPS entered the elections with such a large infrastructure inherited from the League of Communists that it could not have serious competition" (SPS je ušao u izbore sa toliko velikom infrastrukturom nasleđenom od Saveza komunista da nije mogao imati ozbiljnu konkurenciju). According to N1, the infrastructure that SPS gained in 1990 was worth around US$160,000,000. This resulted in an immeasurable advantage for SPS.

The campaign period was met with anti-government protests that were mainly orchestrated by SPO and DS under the banner of United Opposition of Serbia (UOS). They organised protests regarding unequal treatment of the opposition on the RTB and against electoral irregularities. At a June protest in Belgrade, between 30,000 and 40,000 people attended the demonstration. This was the first opposition protest since World War II. The protest was organised by DS, LS, NRS, SPO, and Social Democratic Party of Yugoslavia (SDPJ), and it was held in front of the building of RTB. They demanded that free elections be held that year and left a petition calling for the introduction of a multi-party system. RTB broadcast the protest in a negative tone, while the government labelled the protest as "anti-Serbian". The protest resulted in the intervention of the police, with Mićunović and Borislav Pekić being physically attacked by them. Four cars were damaged during the protests, according to the police, while seven demonstrators were arrested, according to the opposition.

Milošević and Drašković were the leading presidential candidates during the campaign period, with Milošević considered to be the favourite. SPS, and its predecessor had already adopted nationalist rhetoric when Milošević came to power in 1987. NIN described the campaign as having occurred during "extraordinarily dramatic circumstances" (izvanredno dramatičnim okolnostima). The New York Times described the election as "decisive" due to Serbia's role within Yugoslavia, while the Los Angeles Times said that "the election also provides a last chance for Yugoslavia to reconsider its headlong rush toward disintegration and civil war". The Toronto Star said that the elections "may determine, to a large extent, the future make-up or break-up of Yugoslavia", while The Washington Post said that "the survival of Yugoslavia may well be at stake" in the Serbian elections. Shortly before the election, the San Francisco Chronicle predicted that Serbia "is expected to remain staunchly Communist" after the elections. The Seattle Times considered the presidential election to be "the most important election" that year in Yugoslavia. By the end of the campaign, the Serbian opposition, Croatia, Slovenia, and Western countries saw Drašković as a more acceptable alternative to Milošević.

Opposition candidates lacked funds and infrastructure during the campaign. Most opposition parties did not have trained or motivated members, activists, financial resources, or other infrastructure that was needed to run an effective campaign. Publicist Zlatoje Martinov said that the campaign was unfair because the media strongly favoured SPS, while fiercely attacking opposition politicians. Historian Kosta Nikolić said that the 1990 elections were marked by a series of events characteristic of the transition from a one-party to a multi-party system, such as restricted media for the opposition, regime repression, and a high degree of political intolerance between dissenters.

SPS received support from the Army, particularly from Veljko Kadijević, and the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) of Radovan Karadžić. Despite that, both SPO and DS claimed that they had close ties with SDS during the campaign. The Veterans' Union of Yugoslavia also expressed its support for SPS, stating that "SPS is the only party that can oppose the right-wing and nationalist element and mediaeval darkness, Albanian separatism, and Vojvodina autonomism" (SPS je jedina stranka koja se može susprotstaviti desničarskoj i nacionalističkoj stihiji i srednjovekovnom mraku, albanskom separatizmu i vojvođanskom autonomaštvu).

Slogans
The table below lists slogans that political parties used throughout the campaign. Nikola Šainović, an SPS official and future prime minister of Serbia, said regarding the SPS slogans that "we believed in that slogan" (mi smo u tu parolu verovali) and that "it was not just a marketing slogan, there was practically no marketing then, it was a real political slogan" (to nije bila samo marketinška parola, tada marketnga praktično nije ni bilo, to je bila prava politička parola). The SPS slogan "there is no uncertainity with us" (sa nama nema neizvesnosti) was featured on their election posters. Mićunović said that "that slogan spoke of our desire to say that we were wrong a lot, so it's time to decide wisely" (ta parola je govorila o našoj želji da kažemo da smo dosta grešili, pa je vreme da prelomimo pametno). SPO used slogan acronyms, with the first letters of the words in Serbian spelling out their abbreviations.

Media promotion
Klačar argued that political communication was free during the campaign period, though political scientist Jovanka Matić, in CeSID's Mediji i izbori (Media and Elections) book, said that there was no equal treatment of election participants and that the 1990 elections were characterised by "apsolute supremacy of the state media" (apsolutna prevlast državnih medija). "Since the first pluralist parliamentary elections in 1990, the media presentation of the elections was not adapted to the needs of the voters, but to the needs of the parties, and above all to the needs of the ruling party" (Od prvih pluralističkih parlamentarnih izbora 1990. godine, medijska prezentacija izbora nije bila prilagođena potrebama birača, već potrebama partija, i pre svega potrebama vladajuće partije), Matić said. The government portrayed opposition politicians as "enemies of society" (neprijateljima društva). Opposition parties were also faced with a media blockade; Studio B and Radio B92 were the only opposition-friendly media during the 1990 elections. Studio B and Radio B92, however, only broadcast in the Belgrade region. SPS controlled most television and radio stations, as well as newspapers. During the campaign, SPS used the media to attack their political opponents and smear presidential candidates, mostly Drašković. Mićunović was also attacked by the media, though in much less capacity than Drašković, considering that he was not a presidential candidate.

The state media portrayed SPS as a state-building party, as the sole representative of Serbia's national interests, and as the party of peace. They often portrayed Milošević and SPS as being identified with the state; this gave Milošević and other government officials a lot of publicity during the campaign. Regarding the opposition, the media presented them as "promoters of war, conflict, bloodshed, and violence" (zagovornik rata, sukoba, krvoprolića, nasilja) and that they offered "chaos and mindlessness, destruction, political dependence on others, regression, and return to the past" (haos i bezumlje, razaranje, političku zavisnost od drugih i nazadovanje, vraćanje u prošlost).

RTB presented candidates for the parliamentary and presidential elections during the election campaign. RTB allowed candidates to present their programmes on television. It was noted that Đurić's presentation in November was cut from 30 minutes to 17 minutes due to a "musical interlude" and "the presenter's lengthy introduction". Mila Štula, a RTB journalist, also characterised Drašković as "a man with a clerical and Khomeini mentality who is also unsuitable for the head of state because he has no children" (čoveka pisarskog i homeinijevskog mentaliteta, koji je uz to nepogodan za vođu države jer nema dece). During Drašković's presentation on 2 December, RTB turned his words around; Drašković said, "when we come to power, we will provide minimum conditions for people, primarily pensioners, for a normal life. For example, when those people die, they do not even have money for a coffin; they cannot be buried like people, which is a very sad truth" (Mi ćemo, kada dođemo na vlast, obezbediti minimalne uslove ljudima, pre svega penzionerima za normalan život. Na primer, ti ljudi kada umru nemaju para ni za kovčeg, ne mogu da se maltene sahrane kao ljudi, što je vrlo tužna istina), while RTB interpreted his presentation as him wanting to provide all pensioners with coffins, which received backlash from the public. Štula also accused Drašković of owning a villa. While Milošević was invited to give a presentation on RTB, he refused to do so because the timeslot for his presentation would replace the play Solunci govore (Thessalonians speak).

A group of 200 journalists from state-controlled media protested on 6 December, demanding press freedom and the resignation of senior officials from RTB and Politika Publishing House. Miloš Vasić, a former Politika journalist, said that the "news coverage has been especially distorted during campaigning" and that "[Ante] Marković's party was completely ignored".

Issues
The main issues during the campaign period included Kosovo, nationalism, the transformation of the Yugoslav federation, social and economic prosperity, and democracy. Opposition parties were focused on ideological themes during the campaign. Both Milošević and Drašković pledged to reform the economy according to the Western-style economy. Economic issues were, however, not central throughout the campaign; nationalism was instead the main issue during the campaign. The campaign was met with high social polarisation and fear, as well as politically motivated incidents. Shortly before the end of the campaign, between 5 and 6 December, Slobodan Ivanović, an SPO activist, was killed in Dubnica, near Vranje, by a SPS supporter while campaigning. Drašković accused SPS of trying to incite a civil war after the murder.

In the October 1990 opinion poll conducted by the Institute for Political Studies in Belgrade, 33% of the respondents said that living standards and economic development were their most important issues, while their second most important issue was the preservation of Yugoslavia. A majority of respondents wanted to remain in a federal Yugoslavia. In November, 35% of the respondents said that living standards and economic development were their most important issue. In the December poll, this issue was agreed upon by 39% of the respondents, with environmental issues listed second.

September–October
UOS organised a protest on 12 September, demanding a ninety-day election campaign, more television airtime for opposition parties, and representation of the opposition in bodies that oversee the elections. At the end of the protest, Šešelj and his supporters tried to seize the protest. Milošević declined to accept their demands. Once the election was called, SPO organised a protest at Kosovo Polje. Due to SPS supporters organising a counter-protest, violence was on the verge of happening, though the police intervened and the protest remained peaceful.

Throughout the campaign period, there were talks about orchestrating an election boycott. Drašković and his SPO were the first ones to proclaim a boycott on 2 October. They proclaimed a boycott on the grounds that the election would not be fair, while they also wanted the election to be rescheduled for 27 December. Mićunović and Zoran Đinđić were opposed to a boycott; Mićunović said that, in case of a boycott, opposition parties would "leave a clear space for the existing government, and we would deprive our own sympathisers of the opportunity to choose" (ostavljamo čist prostor postojećoj vlasti, a sopstvene simpatizere lišavamo mogućnosti da biraju). After DS decided to take part in the elections, Čavoški left the party; he formed the Serbian Liberal Party in 1991. Đinđić succeeded Čavoški as the president of the executive board of DS. Dragan Veselinov, the president of NSS, said that his party would take part in the elections.

Drašković, who was labelled a right-wing nationalist, portrayed the election as a contest "between good and evil". He earned the moniker "King of the Squares" (kralj trgova) due to his incendiary and provocative rhetoric during the election campaign; his public image was also compared to Rasputin because of his beard and hair. His campaign events were a "mixture of Rasputin and rock concerts". During the campaign, Drašković took a hardline approach towards Kosovo and Serbs in other Yugoslav constituent republics, supported the introduction of free-market capitalism, and supported the restoration of the monarchy. He had a "seven-day solution" for Kosovo, proposing Kosovo Albanians to either sign a "Serbian loyalty oath or get out [of Kosovo]", or the army would intervene. During his campaign event in early October in Novi Pazar, he criticised Muslims and Croats. "Anyone who, in this land of Raška, holds a Turkish flag, an Ustaša flag, an Albanian flag, or anyone else's flag except the Serbian flag, will be left without a hand and without a flag" (svaki onaj ko u ruku, ovom Raškom zemljom, stegne turski barjak, ustaški barjak, albanski barjak ili bilo čiji drugi barjak sem srpskog, ostaće i bez ruke i bez barjaka). During the same period, he proposed to "send our own armed volunteer units to defend our people and our fatherland" during the Log Revolution in Croatia.

Mićunović said that DS campaigned barely without any infrastructure and that they were pressured to use only direct methods of campaigning. During the campaign, DS promoted its technocratic, economically liberal-oriented, and pro-Western programme. Besides this, they favoured a representative parliamentary democracy and promoted human and political freedoms and civic rights. They had a moderate approach towards Kosovo, opting to negotiate with Kosovo Albanians, and wanted to preserve the Yugoslav federation during the campaign. DS was opposed to the confederal system that was promoted by Croatia and Slovenia. DS was a catch-all party and composed of ideologically heterogeneous groupings, and unlike SPO, it did not use populist rhetoric. Political scientist Vukašin Pavlović and Metropolitan University Prague lecturer Marko Stojić positioned DS on the centre-right during the 1990 elections. DS received support from intellectuals.

SPS campaigned on a constructive programme and positive themes and presented itself as a democratic socialist party. In its first programme, published in October, SPS had the intention to develop "Serbia as a socialist republic, founded on law and social justice". Despite this, the rhetoric of SPS was largely built on combining nationalism and social demagogy. In comparison with other former communist parties, SPS did not abandon its authoritarian traits. SPS also promoted conspiracy theories during the campaign, such as alleging that there is a United States plot to destroy Serbia. Their president, Milošević, campaigned on presenting himself as a moderate, promising stability, protecting Serbia's national interests, and protecting industrial workers from unemployment. Opposition parties criticised Milošević due to his former affiliation with SKS. Regarding the status of Yugoslavia, Milošević was in favour of keeping the status quo and said that a civil war could break out if other constituent republics declared independence. Most of his supporters were frightened of a change to a market economy, a change of government, and the dissolution of Yugoslavia; Milošević himself opposed free-market policies and promoted protectionist measures instead. During the campaign period in October, the government of Serbia raised tariffs and introduced trade barriers to reduce imports from Croatia and Slovenia.

Out of other opposition parties and candidates that gained prominence during the campaign, the Association for the Yugoslav Democratic Initiative (UJDI) expressed its opposition to confederalism, instead proposing to form an agreement in a multi-party Assembly of Yugoslavia. The nominee of UJDI and SRSJ was Ivan Đurić; he campaigned on a moderate, liberal, and pro-European programme and received support from the West. Đurić was strongly opposed to nationalism and favoured a dialogue between Serbs and Albanians. SRSJ only gained support in Vojvodina but not in the rest of Serbia. Amidst the campaign period, Šešelj was first sentenced to prison on 2 October due to offences regarding public order and peace. He was later released but quickly sent to prison again on 23 October for 45 days due to attempting to recruit volunteers for the Log Revolution in Croatia. His SČP, in the meantime, was not allowed to take part in the elections. DS condemned his sentence to prison. In late October, Nenad Čanak, the president of LSV/J, condemned the anti-bureaucratic revolution in Vojvodina in a campaign interview.

November–December
In-mid November, talks about the election boycott intensified. The government refused to implement amendments to the election law that were proposed by the opposition, which included demands such as representation of the opposition in RIK and local commissions. Initially, 11 parties announced in mid-November that they would boycott the elections; the number soon increased to 19. Besides SPO, parties such as SRSJ and SNO, as well as presidential candidates Drašković and Đurić, proclaimed an election boycott and withdrew their candidacies. They also feared that vote fraud would occur in the election if they were to participate. By 26 November, the number of parties that announced a boycott had grown to about 40. The government of Serbia feared that with a boycott, the international community would not accept the results of the election; Milošević also criticised parties that proclaimed the boycott. He accused the "rightist conservatives and often dark forces" (desnih konzervativnih i često sasvim mračnih snaga) of trying to bring Serbia "to the past, to bring it into chaos" (u prošlost, da je uvuku u haos). The government eventually accepted the recommendations on 26 November, and the boycott was cancelled. The government, however, declined to reschedule the elections for 23 December. Drašković said that "some effort was made towards a reasonable solution" (učienjen je izvestan napor ka razumnom rešenju) and that SPO would not boycott the elections.

SPO came under criticism from Ante Marković, the prime minister of Yugoslavia, and his SRSJ in early November; Marković presented SPO as a bigger threat than Milošević. In late November, Drašković accused Milošević of destabilising Yugoslavia, while in December he denied the accusations that SPO would overthrow the government. By the end of the campaign ,Drašković moderated his rhetoric, and said that he would negotiate with Croatia and Slovenia to not let Yugoslavia disintegrate. He was also opposed to the breakup of Yugoslavia, but still favoured the concept of Greater Serbia. Drašković's last campaign event, attended by 15,000 people, was more of a commemorative rally for the murdered SPO activist.

Đinđić said in early November that DS would concentrate on issues such as reprivatisation of the economy, personal freedoms and rights of citizens, and the issue of Serbia within Yugoslavia. DS did not campaign on nationalist themes. Vojislav Koštunica, the vice-president of DS, described the elections as "vital" and said that "without free elections, nothing can change in Yugoslavia". At the end of the campaign, Vladeta Janković said that DS would enter the government led by SPO in the event of a SPO victory.

While campaigning in early November, Milošević criticised the opposition: "That path to a modern society and a developed society is incompatible with any mystical messages, which like ghosts of the past circulate in some parts of Serbia and which various false prophets and madmen offer to the Serbian people as a pledge of the future" (Taj put u moderno društvo i razvijeno društvo nespojiv je sa bilo kakvim mističkim porukama, koje kao aveti prošlosti kruže u nekim delovima Srbije i koje razni lažni proroci i ludaci nude srpskom narodu kao zalog budućnosti). Throughout the rest of the month, he intensified his presidential campaign. He later said that "a Socialist defeat could unleash dark forces from the country's past". In the final campaign week, Milošević gave a choreographed speech in Novi Sad; workers from state-owned factories were given the afternoon off and sent to Milošević's rally. After the rally, the supporters were bussed back home. Despite only 15,000 people attending the rally, the state-controlled media reported the number to be between 75,000 and 150,000. His last campaign event was held on 5 December.

Đurić criticised both the SPS and nationalist anti-communists during the campaign in November, arguing that "if we want to join Europe, [...] we need a moderate, authentic, democratic position" (ukoliko želimo u Evropu, [...] potrebna nam je umerena, autentična, demokratska pozicija). After Šešelj left prison in November, he launched his presidential campaign; he strongly criticised opposition parties, such as SPO. He, however, thanked DS for supporting his release and said that SČP would consider endorsing the candidates of DS in the parliamentary election. Shortly before the election, Šešelj emphasised his support for monarchism and named the SRSJ and the League of Communists – Movement for Yugoslavia as the "two new evils" (dva nova zla). Out of minor candidates, Nikola Šećeroski, a plastic artist, received the most attention. During an interview for RTB, for which he is remembered, Šećeroski said that the municipality of Čukarica accused him of making "brushes and brooms" (četke i metle), despite being a plastic artist. He has been described as a symbol of "ridiculing and making the democratic process meaningless" (ismevanje i obesmišljavanja demokratskog procesa). Ćuić, a driving instructor and poet, was not politically active prior to the election. In the election, she was nominated on behalf of a citizens group. Ćuić did not run an active campaign but did participate in television programmes. "Whoever throws a cigarette butt on the street has done evil to all mankind" (Ko baci opušak na ulicu, učinio je zlo celom čovečanstvu), Ćuić once said during the campaign. Out of all independent candidates for the parliamentary election, Milićević campaigned on improving children's rights and the rights of the elderly, as well as expanding the number of kindergartens, schools, and parks. Subota criticised poor conditions that independent candidates were faced with during the election campaign.

Veselinov said that opposition forces would unite in the event of a second round in the presidential election. For the second round of the parliamentary elections, opposition parties united under the UOS banner. Its members included SPO, DS, SRSJS, NSS, NS, ND, NRS, and UJDI. UOS called for its voters to vote for opposition candidates in the second round "regardless of their political affiliation" (nezavisno od njegove stranačke pripadnosti). Šešelj declined to join the coalition, though he personally endorsed DS candidates. UOS opposed the dissolution of Yugoslavia and was anti-war.

Presidential election
Opinion polls were not considered reliable during the 1990 elections. The Los Angeles Times reported in their election coverage that in opinion polls for the presidential elections, Milošević had a modest lead over Drašković. The following table includes opinion polls that were conducted for the presidential elections.

Parliamentary election
Academic Vladimir B. Sotirović noted that after the September opinion poll, the electoral support of SPS vastly increased due to its status as the governing party and due to media control. The Washington Post reported that, according to one opinion poll, SPO could have received the largest number of seats in the National Assembly. An exit poll showed that DS enjoyed strong support in Belgrade. The following table includes opinion polls that were conducted for the parliamentary elections.

Conduct
Despite the opposition parties claiming electoral fraud, such as ballot stuffing, abuse of postal votes, manipulation in the counting of votes, and trying to dispute the legitimacy of the elections, election observers gave the elections a transitional rating and declared the elections to be free. RIK dismissed the allegations of voter fraud. Opposition parties later conceded the election; they were surprised and disappointed about the results.

The election was observed by 170 foreign journalists and 65 people from monitoring organisations. The National Republican Institute for International Affairs concluded that the election was fair and reported that observers complained about "bias and favouritism in media coverage". Zoran Hodzera, who monitored on behalf of the Americans and Canadians of Serbia delegation, concluded that the "elections would not be considered legal in the West" due to irregularities that occurred. Hodzera said that there was a spike in the number of voters shortly before the elections, that there were voters who voted without their ID cards, that the government intimidated voters, and that state-run media was biassed against opposition parties during the campaign.

Newspaper Vreme reported that the election was marked with electoral irregularities, such as ballot stuffing and voting without an ID card, and that a large number of deceased voters were featured in the electoral roll. Political scientist Nebojša Vladisaljević argued that the election was competitive but neither free or fair. Political scientist Vladimir Goati reported that irregularities occurred, but only a small amount of them were recorded; using names of deceased or absent voters, ballot stuffing, and illegal interventions in the electoral roll in favour of SPS candidates were one of them. Vote buying was the most widespread during the 1990 elections, according to political scientist Dušan Pavlović.

Results
Unlike in most post-communist countries after the Revolutions of 1989, including the constituent states in Yugoslavia, the elections in Serbia were won by the incumbent government party. In comparison, the elections in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia were won by anti-communists. On the first round of election day, The New York Times reported that SPS might not win a majority of seats in the National Assembly. RIK published preliminary results of the elections on 10 December. The Republic Bureau of Statistics published full results of the elections in January 1991.

Presidential election
There were 7,033,610 citizens who had the right to vote in the presidential elections. Out of 9,013 voting stations, voting took place at 8,587 voting stations. At 22 voting stations, voting had to be repeated. The turnout in the election was 71%. Milošević won the presidential election in a landslide. Observers saw this as a shock, considering that they expected that Drašković would receive a strong showing. Drašković only won 16% of the popular vote. The third-placed was Đurić, who won shortly more than 5% of the popular vote. Milošević, Drašković, and Đurić received more votes than their parties, respectively. Sulejman Ugljanin of the SDA received over 100,000 votes. A second round was not held considering that Milošević won a majority of the popular vote.

Parliamentary election
There were 7,036,303 citizens who had the right to vote in the first round of the parliamentary elections; in the second round, there were 4,352,573. In the first round, voting took place at 8,595 out of 9,013 voting stations, while in the second round, voting took place at 4,507 out of 4,906 voting stations. In the first round of the parliamentary election, 96 members were elected, while the rest, 154 members, were elected in the second round. The voter turnout in the first round was reported to be 71%, the highest of any parliamentary election in Serbia since then. In the second round, the turnout was 48%. While the turnout in other Yugoslav republics was higher, the turnout of 71% in the first round largely resulted from Kosovo Albanians boycotting the election.

The election resulted in a landslide victory for Milošević's SPS, winning 194 out of 250 seats in the National Assembly. Despite being short of winning 50% of the popular vote, it received 78% of seats in the National Assembly due to the first-past-the-post system. The second-placed was SPO, which won 19 seats, while the third-placed was DS, which won 7 seats. Minority parties won 14 seats, while independents won 8. Out of all minority parties, the Democratic Fellowship of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMDK) won most seats, 8 in total. Only four women were elected to the National Assembly. Liberal parties, such as DS, and social-democratic parties, such as SDPJ, did not garner a lot of support in comparison with other post-communist countries.

Goati argued that SPS won because Serbia was an economically underdeveloped country and because of its electoral system, which resulted in SPS gaining 194 seats despite obtaining less than 50% of the popular vote. He also argued that state-controlled media campaigns against opposition parties also helped SPS in the campaign. Political scientist Srećko Mihailović argued that the mixture of nationalism and socialism resulted in the SPS victory.

Voting was repeated at 3 voting stations on 16 December. Elections were repeated in one constituency in March 1991 due to the death of Miodrag Bulatović, elected with the nomination of SPS. In this election, Šešelj of SRS, Pekić of DS, Jovan Marjanović of SPO, and Radoš Karaklajić of SPS were the candidates. Despite the SPS nominating its own candidate, Milošević gave campaign infrastructure to Šešelj instead. Šešelj was eventually elected a member in the second round.

Voter demographics
A majority of the working class voted for SPS in the 1990 election. Academics Dragomir Pantić and Zoran Pavlović analysed the demographics of the three major parties during the 1990 elections. According to them, SPS voters were characterised by authoritarianism, nationalism, irreligiousness, and nostalgia for socialism; DS voters were characterised by anti-authoritarianism, nationalism, irreligiousity, and rare nostalgia for socialism; and SPO voters were characterised by mild authoritarianism, nationalism, religiousity, and an absence of nostalgia for socialism. Political scientist Srbobran Branković said that SPS voters included the elderly, those with lower education, such as pensioners, housewives, and peasants, and workers spanning from the unqualified to highly qualified workers. Regarding the opposition, their voters included younger generations and those with higher education, such as students, professors, intellectuals, and private entrepreneurs. According to Martinov, 28% of SPS voters advocated for an authoritarian regime, and 33% espoused social justice. According to the Institute of Social Sciences, SPS voters were the most authoritarian, while DS voters were the most libertarian. Regarding presidential candidates, supporters of Milošević espoused the highest amounts of authoritarianism, while supporters of Đurić and Šešelj were the most libertarian.

The Institute for Political Studies in Belgrade poll conducted in December also listed the influence of voter results in the election; 28.7% said that radio had little influence on them, while 12.7% said that it had "a great deal" of influence on them. On the other hand, television impacted most voters, while the press had little influence on the outcome of their voting. Most of the voters had already known who they would vote for since the beginning, with 16.4% also stating that they formed their decision during the election campaign. Regarding the political positioning of voters, 28.4% identified as centrist, 21.6% as mildly left, 11.1% as mildly right, 9.6% as centre-left, 6.4% as extreme-left, 5.6% as centre-right, and 2.8% as extreme-right. Most of the voters favoured closer relations with the European Economic Community, while 28.4% opted for a strictly neutral policy.

Reactions
Shortly after the announcement of the results, Milošević said that "I understand the duty of the president of the Republic, which I assume by the decision of the citizens of Serbia, as an obligation and responsibility for the realisation of the policy of freedom, peace, and equality of nations and people" (Dužnost predsednika Republike, koju preuzimam odlukom građana Srbije, shvatam kao obavezu i odgovornost za ostvarenje politike slobode, mira i ravnopravnosti naroda i ljudi) and that "Serbia needs to unite now" (Srbija sada treba da se ujedini). Šešelj was the first candidate to congratulate Milošević once the results were announced. Đurić claimed that Milošević did not win 50% of the popular vote and that the results from opposition candidates were subtracted from and added on top of Milošević's result. Milošević was also felicitated by Ante Marković and Franjo Tuđman, the newly-elected president of Croatia.

Vreme reported that opposition leaders were "in a state of shock for about 20 hours" (gotovo dvadeset sati bili u šoku). Drašković said after the elections that "citizens voted for restraints, for Bolshevism, for the past, for darkness, and for shame" (građani glasali za stege, za boljševizam, za prošlost, za mrak i za sramotu), and initially said that SPO might not accept the results. He also claimed that he had wished for such exact results. Đinđić described the voters as not having heard of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Dragan Jovanović, the president of ZS, said that his party was disappointed and that "the people got what they deserved" (narod je dobio ono što je zaslužio). Nebojša Popov from UJDI compared the election to the pre-World War II Weimar Germany elections. Dušan Mihajlović of ND was more optimistic, saying that "the battle for true democracy has just begun" (bitka za pravu demokratiju je tek počela). Albanian LDK rejected recognising the legitimacy of the elections.

The poll conducted by the Institute for Political Studies in Belgrade saw 55% of the respondents satisfied with the results of the presidential election, with 22% also being neither satisfied nor unsatisfied, while 21% said that they were unsatisfied with the results. Regarding the parliamentary elections, 37% were satisfied, 33% were unsatisfied, and 28% were neither satisfied nor unsatisfied. 26.5% of the respondents said that the election would somewhat influence their future lives and 22% said that it would not at all influence their future lives; 32% did not know.

Aftermath
With the conclusion of the 1990 elections, Serbia turned from a one-party system to a competitive authoritarian multi-party system. Sotirović also said that political scientists considered the system to be authoritarian during the process of the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Nikolić also considered the system to be authoritarian. Goati defined it as a dominant-party system.

Government formation
The National Assembly was constituted on 11 January 1991. Considering that 10 member of parliament (MPs) were needed to form a parliamentary group, only SPS and SPO were able to form a parliamentary group on their own. DS, VMDK, and several independents united to form a group on their own. Slobodan Unković was elected as the president of the National Assembly. Unković remained in that position until his resignation in June, stating that he was "exhausted" (iscrpljen) and wanted to return to the academic sphere. He was succeeded by Aleksandar Bakočević, who remained in that position until the 1992 elections.

Considering that SPS had obtained a supermajority in the National Assembly, the next government of Serbia was led solely by SPS. Dragutin Zelenović was elected prime minister of Serbia by the National Assembly in February 1991. "[Serbia's] only and true path is and must be economic and social reforms based on modern developed countries" ([Srbijin] jedini i pravi put jeste i moraju biti ekonomske i društvene reforme po ugledu na savremene razvijene države), Zelenović said upon his inaguration. His cabinet, for the first time since World War II, included the ministries of foreign affairs and defence. He served in the office until December 1991, when his government was replaced by the cabinet led by Radoman Božović. Both governments included SPS and independent ministers.

Legacy
The Radio Television of Serbia published a documentary about the 1990 elections in 2020. The documentary featured politicians that took part in the 1990 elections, as well as political scientists and researchers.