Political Situation

Serbia and Montenegro (SaM) is a constitutional republic consisting of the relatively large Republic of Serbia and the much smaller Republic of Montenegro.* In March 2002, the two republics, with European Union (EU) mediation, negotiated the Belgrade Agreement, in which they agreed to redefine the joint state. On February 4, the Yugoslav Parliament adopted the Constitutional Charter and Implementation Law, marking the end of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and the beginning of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro. In the new state, almost all authority devolved to the two republics. The state union Government has responsibilities essentially limited to the Foreign Ministry, the military (VSCG, formerly the VJ), human and minority rights, and foreign economic and commercial relations. The SaM judiciary was constituted by year's end.

State Union of Serbia and Montenegro
In February 2003, the Constitutional Charter was ratified by the Republic of Serbia, Republic of Montenegro, and the Yugoslav Parliament. The Constitutional Charter changed the name of the country from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to "Serbia and Montenegro." Under the new Constitutional Charter, most federal functions and authorities devolved to the republic level. The office of President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, held by Vojislav Kostunica, ceased to exist once Svetozar Marovic was elected President of Serbia and Montenegro.

Republic of Serbia
Even as opposition to the his regime grew in the late 1990s, Yugoslav President Milosevic continued to dominate the organs of the F.R.Y. Government. Although his political party, the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), did not enjoy a majority in either the federal or Serbian parliaments, it dominated the governing coalitions and held all the key administrative posts. An essential element of Milosevic's grasp on power was his control of the Serbian police, a heavily armed force of some 100,000 that was responsible for internal security and which committed serious human rights abuses. Routine federal elections in September 2000 resulted in a narrow official victory for Milosevic and his coalition. Immediately, street protests and rallies filled cities across the country as Serbs rallied around Vojislav Kostunica, the recently formed Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS, a broad coalition of anti-Milosevic parties) candidate for F.R.Y. president. Cries of fraud and calls for Milosevic's removal echoed across city squares from Subotica to Nis.

On October 5, 2000, Slobodan Milosevic was forced to concede defeat after days of mass protests all across Serbia. New F.R.Y. President Vojislav Kostunica was soon joined at the top of the domestic Serbian political scene by the Democratic Party's (DS) Zoran Djindjic, who was elected Prime Minister of Serbia at the head of the DOS ticket in December's republican elections. After an initial honeymoon period in the wake of October 5, DSS and the rest of DOS, led by Djindjic and his DS, found themselves increasingly at odds over the nature and pace of the governments' reform programs. Although initial reform efforts were highly successful, especially in the economic and fiscal sectors, by the middle of 2002, the nationalist Kostunica and the pragmatic Djindjic were openly at odds. Kostunica's party, having informally withdrawn from all DOS decisionmaking bodies, was agitating for early elections to the Serbian Parliament in an effort to force Djindjic from the scene.

After the initial euphoria of replacing Milosevic's autocratic regime, the Serbian population, in reaction to this political maneuvering, was sliding into apathy and disillusionment with its leading politicians by mid-2002. This political stalemate continued for much of 2002, and reform initiatives stalled. Two rounds of elections for the republic presidency in late 2002 failed because of insufficient voter turnout (Serbian law requires participation by more than 50% of registered voters).

On March 12, 2003, Serbian Prime Minister Djindjic was assassinated. The Serbian government and the newly formed union government of Serbia and Montenegro reacted swiftly by calling a state of emergency and undertaking an unprecedented crackdown on organized crime which led to the arrest of more than 4,000 people. Zoran Zivkovic, a vice-president of Djindjic's DS party, was elected Prime Minister in March 2003. A series of scandals plagued the Zivkovic government through the second half of 2003, ultimately leading the Prime Minister to call early elections.

The Republic of Serbia presidential elections were held on November 16, 2003. These elections were also declared invalid because of insufficient voter turnout. Parliamentary elections held on December 28, 2003 yielded the following results:

Party Seats Percentage

SRS 82 28%

DSS 53 18%

DS 37 13%

G-17 34 12%

SPO/NS 22 8%

SPS 22 7%

Following the December 2003 parliamentary elections, a new minority government was formed which includes Prime Minister Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), G17+, and the Serbian Renewal Movement/New Serbia (SPO/NS) coalition with the support of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS). President Tadic has indicated that his Democratic Party (DS) will not join the governing coalition but will work with Serbia's democratic forces to advance the reform agenda.

Republic of Montenegro
Although threatened by Milosevic throughout the last years of his rule, Montenegro's democratization efforts have continued. In January 1998, Milo Djukanovic became Montenegro's President, following bitterly contested elections in November 1997, which were declared free and fair by international monitors. His coalition followed up with parliamentary elections in May 1998. Having weathered Milosevic's campaign to undermine his government, Djukanovic struggled to balance the pro-independence stance of his coalition with the changed domestic and international environment of the post-October 5, 2000 Balkans. In December 2002, Djukanovic resigned as President and was appointed Prime Minister. The new President of Montenegro is Filip Vujanovic.

Political System
The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro was proclaimed on 4 February 2003 is based on the equality of the two member states, the state of Serbia and the state of Montenegro.

The state union's highest legal act is the Constitutional Charter.

Under the Constitutional Charter, the Assembly of SCG exercises legislative power. The Assembly is mono-cameral and is made up of 126 MPs, 91 of which are from Serbia and 35 from Montenegro. The MPs of the Serbia and Montenegro Assembly are elected from either member state in accordance with European and democratic standards on the basis of the laws of the member states.

For the first two years after the adoption of the Constitutional Charter, the MPs have been elected indirectly in proportion to their representation in the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and the Assembly of the Republic of Montenegro. After that initial period, the MPs will be elected at direct elections. Their term of office will be four years. The Assembly of Serbia and Montenegro elects from among its MPs the President and the Vice-President of the Assembly and they may not come from the same member state.

The Assembly was constituted on 3 March 2003.

The President of Serbia and Montenegro is elected by the SCG Assembly. The President of the Assembly and the President of the State Union may not come from the same member state. The State Union President's term of office is four years. The member states take over the office of President alternately. The current President of Serbia and Montenegro Svetozar Marovic (elected on 7 March 2003) comes from Montenegro and the President of the Assembly Zoran �ami is from Serbia.

The executive power is vested with the President of SCG and the Council of Ministers that he chairs and runs.

The Council of Ministers has five Ministries: Foreign Affairs; Defense; International Economic Relations; Internal Economic Relations; and Protection of Human and Minority Rights. The President and two candidates for Ministers come from one and the remaining three candidates for Ministers from the other member state. The President of SCG proposes candidates to the Assembly for the Council of Ministers, the Assembly approves the membership of the Council on the whole. The Ministers have a four-year term of office. The President of SCG and the Council of Ministers answer for their work to the Assembly of Serbia and Montenegro.

The Council of Ministers was formed on 17 March 2003.

The seat of the Assembly and the Council of Ministers is in Belgrade.

The judicial power is vested with the Court of Serbia and Montenegro. Its decisions are final and binding. The Court is authorised to invalidate laws, other regulations of the institutions of Serbia and Montenegro that are contrary to the Constitutional Charter and the laws of Serbia and Montenegro. The judges from both member states have equal representation on the Court. The judges are appointed by the Assembly of SCG at the proposal of the Council of Ministers for a six-year term of office.

The seat of the Court is in Podgorica.

In addition to the joint Parliament, the Council of Ministers, the President and the Court, every member state has its own Parliament, President and Government.