Opposition Official: I Believe in Victory in the Polls

Miroslav Aleksic (BETAPHOTO/MILAN ILIC)

People's Movement of Serbia leader Miroslav Aleksic said on May 23 that he believed that the opposition would win elections on June 2, adding that each day he toured several cities in Serbia and that he could feel the optimism and desire for change.

"I believe in victory and if you want to win, you must believe in success. If you do not, then do not play the game. So, there are many places in Serbia where there will be serious results and big surprises. I expect the opposition to achieve great success in Belgrade and Nis and Novi Sad. When I say success, I mean victory," Aleksic told the NIN weekly in an interview.

He also said that there was essentially no boycott. "The only discussion of a boycott is in Belgrade, wherever you go in Serbia no one is talking about a boycott. They are talking about programs, campaigns. Ergo, people are going to vote. I, too, call on Belgraders not to fall into this trap. There is no boycott. There are 14 tickets running in the elections in Belgrade and in fact everyone who opposes this regime and stays at home on June 2 is indirectly gifting their vote to the authorities," Aleksic said.

He said that things were a lot worse for the opposition today than during the era of Slobodan Milosevic. "Back then the entire world supported the opposition. Institutionally, media-wise, financially, in every way you can imagine. Today we are on our own, and the regime wants to root out the opposition like it was a weed. These are the conditions that we are fighting in," Aleksic said.