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
AbbreviationDEPOS
LeaderVuk Drašković
FoundedMay 23, 1992
DissolvedPrior 1994
HeadquartersBelgrade
Political position1992: 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

National liberalism

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

Christian democracy

Centre-right
18 / 250
N/A
Serbian Liberal Party
Српска либерална странка
Srpska liberalna stranka
Nikola Milošević Conservative liberalism

Serbian nationalism

Right-wing
1 / 250
N/A
People's Peasant Party
Народна сељачка странка
Narodna seljačka stranka
Dragan Veselinov Vojvodina autonomism

Agrarianism

Center-right N/A
1 / 250
Civic Alliance of Serbia
Грађански савез Србије
Građanski savez Srbije
Vesna Pešić Liberalism

Anti-nationalism

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

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