Democratic Movement of Serbia
The Democratic Movement of Serbia (Serbian: Demokratski pokret Srbije) or DEPOS (DE - from Serbian "Demokratija" - Democracy, PO - from Serbian "Pokret" - Movement and S derived from "Serbia"), was a big tent political coalition founded in 1992, led by centre-right Serbian Renewal Movement of Vuk Drašković.[1]
Democratic Movement of Serbia Демократски покрет Србије Demokratski pokret Srbije | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | DEPOS |
Leader | Vuk Drašković |
Founded | May 23, 1992 |
Dissolved | Prior 1994 |
Headquarters | Belgrade |
Political position | 1992: Center-right 1993: Big tent |
National Assembly (1993 election) | 45 / 250
|
History
DEPOS was founded by SPO on 23 May 1992. Democratic Party led by Dragoljub Mićunović, refused to join coalition, due to right-wing policies of SPO. Group of members left DS in July 1992 and founded Democratic Party of Serbia, with Vojislav Koštunica as president. DSS joined DEPOS shortly after.
1992 election
Organized by DEPOS, the Vidovdan Council was held on the plateau in front of the Federal Assembly from June 28 to July 5, 1992, demanding the resignation of Milošević, the dissolution of the Serbian Parliament and the formation of the so-called government of national salvation. Tens of thousands of citizens were addressed by a large number of prominent personalities, among whom were the Serbian patriarch Pavle, the heir to the throne Aleksandar Karađorđević and the writer Matija Bećković. The Vidovdan Council ended in an atmosphere of disappointment because the government did not agree to the demands of DEPOS, but only to the holding of non-binding round tables of the government and the opposition, at which the election legislation would be discussed. The focus was on the electoral system - the government advocated remaining a majority, while the opposition demanded proportionality. The federal government, headed by Milan Panić, an American businessman of Serbian descent, in July 1992, also supported the opposition's proposal that the elections be conducted according to the proportional system, which was eventually adopted.[2] Panić became presidential candidate supported by DEPOS during 1992 Serbian presidential election. The Democratic Movement of Serbia tried to present itself to voters as an alternative to the government, basing the campaign on black and white contrast, symbolizing the difference between the Milošević regime and what the opposition advocated.
1993 election
By turning to the civic option in late 1993, DEPOS was left without the Democratic Party of Serbia, which was trying to fill the vacant space in the center-right position. However, Civic Alliance of Serbia and Peasants Party of Serbia joined the coalition. The Democratic Movement of Serbia, weakened by the withdrawal of the DSS from the coalition, achieved a slightly worse result compared to the previous elections. DEPOS slipped from almost 800,000 votes to 715,000, winning 45 seats, five less than in 1992. The reasons for that should be sought primarily in the independent performance of the DSS, which, by winning 218,000 votes, certainly dragged a part of the voters to DEPOS. However, the electoral system did not go hand in hand with Vojislav Koštunica's party, whose votes were unevenly distributed among constituencies, so with just over five percent of the vote at the Republic's level, it won only seven seats (2.8 percent).[3]
The coalition received 16.89% of the popular vote in the 1992 and 16.64% in the 1993 parliamentary elections. The coalition was dissolved in 1994 after New Democracy entered into a coalition government with the Socialist Party.
Members
Name | Leader | Main ideology | Political position | MPs (1992) | MPs (1993) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Serbian Renewal Movement Српски покрет обнове Srpski pokret obnove |
Vuk Drašković | Monarchism | Centre-right | 30 / 250 |
37 / 250 | |
New Democracy Нова демократија Nova demokratija |
Dušan Mihajlović | Liberalism National liberalism |
Center | 1 / 250 |
5 / 250 | |
Democratic Party of Serbia Демократска странка Србије Demokratska stranka Srbije |
Vojislav Koštunica | National conservatism | Centre-right | 18 / 250 |
N/A | |
Serbian Liberal Party Српска либерална странка Srpska liberalna stranka |
Nikola Milošević | Conservative liberalism | Right-wing | 1 / 250 |
N/A | |
People's Peasant Party Народна сељачка странка Narodna seljačka stranka |
Dragan Veselinov | Vojvodina autonomism | Center-right | N/A | 1 / 250 | |
Civic Alliance of Serbia Грађански савез Србије Građanski savez Srbije |
Vesna Pešić | Liberalism | Center | N/A | 1 / 250 |
Electoral results
Parliamentary elections
Year | Popular vote | % of popular vote | # of seats | Seat change | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1992 | 797.831 | 16.89% | 50 / 250 |
50 | opposition |
1993 | 715,564 | 16.64% | 45 / 250 |
5 | opposition |
Presidential election
Election year | # | Candidate | 1st round votes | % | 2nd round votes | % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1992 | 2nd | Milan Panić | 1,516,693 | 32.11 | — | N/A |
note: Independent candidate, support
See also
References
- http://ius.regione.toscana.it/elezioni/Quaderni/qua56/Saggio3.pdf Archived 2011-08-18 at the Wayback Machine (in Italian)
- "Izbori 1992: Prvi Šešeljev milion, Arkan u parlamentu i manjinska vlada SPS". N1 Srbija (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-08-21.
- "Izbori 1993: Radikal Vučić i demokrata Vesić kao studenti u Skupštini Srbije". N1 Srbija (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-08-21.