Local elections were held in Serbia over two rounds on 3 November and 17 November 1996, concurrently with the 1996 Vojvodina provincial election. The first day of voting also coincided with the 1996 Yugoslavian parliamentary election and the 1996 Montenegrin parliamentary election. This was the third local election cycle held while Serbia was a constituent member of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the last time that Serbia oversaw local elections throughout Kosovo and Metohija until its controversial decision to hold elections in 2008.
Delegates to city and municipal assemblies were elected in single-member constituencies. If no candidate secured a majority in the first round of voting, the top two candidates took part in a runoff vote in the second round.
Campaign and aftermath.
The elections took place during the time of Slobodan Milošević's authoritarian rule as president of Serbia. In most major jurisdictions, Milošević's Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) ran in an alliance with the Yugoslav Left (JUL) and New Democracy (ND).
The main opposition grouping was the "Zajedno" alliance, which was formed in September 1996 by the Democratic Party (DS), the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), and the Civic Alliance of Serbia (GSS). The Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) participated in the "Zajedno" alliance in some jurisdictions, including Kragujevac, Pančevo, Smederevo, and Čačak, and contested other areas, such as Belgrade on its own. The far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS) contested the election on its own, directing its attacks on both Milošević and "Zajedno".
The election results were marked by weeks of controversy. "Zajedno" claimed success in several major jurisdictions, but in most instances the SPS did not accept defeat and the local election commissions (often controlled by allies of Milošević) refused to certify the opposition's victories. In Belgrade, the election commission invalidated the results in thirty-three constituencies won by "Zajedno" and called a third round of voting for 27 November. The "Zajedno" parties boycotted the third round, charging abuse of process. These events led to the 1996–1997 protests in Serbia, in which student and opposition groups held a series of non-violent street rallies against the Milošević regime.
Milošević and his allies held a counter-rally in Belgrade on 24 December 1996 that drew only sixty thousand attendees (many of whom had been brought in from rural areas) against three hundred thousand opposition protesters. Three days later, a delegation from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) ruled that the opposition had indeed won several of the disputed elections, including in Belgrade, Niš, Pančevo, and Zrenjanin. The Serbian government began to soften its position, accepting the opposition's victory in Niš on 8 January 1997. The Belgrade election commission announced on 17 January that "Zajedno" had won the elections. The government initially refused to accept this ruling, but on 13 February (following police attacks on the opposition demonstrators that were condemned internationally) the Serbian parliament approved a "lex specialis" that affirmed almost all of the victories claimed by "Zajedno". The protests wound down after this time, and the "Zajedno" coalition took power in Belgrade and several other cities.
Ultimately, the parties in "Zajedno" were not able to remain united at the republic level, and the coalition fell apart in Belgrade before the year was over. In some jurisdictions, including Novi Sad, the "Zajedno" parties were able to maintain their alliance until the next local election cycle in 2000.
Results.
Unless otherwise noted, vote totals and percentages refer to the results in the first round of voting.
Belgrade.
Elections were held at the city level and in all of Belgrade's constituent municipalities. The "Zajedno" alliance won a majority victory in the city, as well as winning control of most municipal assemblies. The Socialists won a smaller number of victories, mostly in the city's outer suburbs, while the Radicals won control of Zemun.
City of Belgrade.
Results of the election for the City Assembly of Belgrade:
DS leader Zoran Đinđić was chosen as mayor on 21 February 1997, by a vote of sixty-eight to twenty-four among the city assembly's delegates. There were sixteen abstentions and one delegate was absent. "Zajedno" gained another seat shortly after the election, when DSS delegate Aleksandra Joksimović joined the DS.
The SPO left the "Zajedno" alliance later in the year. Đinđić was dismissed as mayor on 30 September 1997, via an SPO motion that was supported by the SPS and SRS. Sixty-seven of the sixty-eight delegates present voted for Đinđić 's dismissal; the other delegate abstained. The non-SPO members of "Zajedno" boycotted this sitting of the assembly on the grounds that it had been improperly constituted. Milan Božić of the SPO became the city's acting mayor, and the SPO held all of the major positions in the city government with the informal support of the SPS and SRS. Božić was the acting mayor for almost a year and a half before Vojislav Mihailović, also of the SPO, was voted to the position by the assembly in January 1999.
Municipalities of Belgrade.
Barajevo.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Barajevo:
Milan Damnjanović of the Socialist Party was chosen as mayor after the election.
Čukarica.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Čukarica:
Zoran Alimpić of the Democratic Party was chosen as mayor after the election.
Grocka.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Grocka:
Incumbent mayor Milan Janković of the Socialist Party was confirmed for another term in office after the election.
Lazarevac.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Lazarevac:
Živko Živković of the Socialist Party was chosen as mayor after the election.
Mladenovac.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Mladenovac:
Predrag Čokić of "Zajedno" was chosen as mayor after the election, by a vote of 28 to 27. This was one of two municipalities where the "lex specialis" did not recognize a victory claimed by "Zajedno", although the coalition managed to form government in any event.
New Belgrade.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of New Belgrade:
Incumbent mayor Čedomir Ždrnja of the Socialist Party was confirmed for another term in office after the election. This was one of two municipalities where the "lex specialis" did not recognize a victory claimed by "Zajedno".
Obrenovac.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Obrenovac:
Palilula.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Palilula:
Gordana Tomić of the Democratic Party was chosen as mayor after the election.
Rakovica.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Rakovica:
Predrag Dokmanović of the Serbian Renewal Movement was chosen as mayor after the election.
Savski Venac.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Savski Venac:
Zdravko Krstić of the Serbian Renewal Movement was chosen as mayor after the election.
Sopot.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Sopot:
Incumbent mayor Živorad Milosavljević of the Socialist Party was confirmed for another term in office after the election.
Stari Grad.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Stari Grad:
Incumbent mayor Jovan Kažić of the Serbian Renewal Movement was confirmed for another term in office after the election.
Voždovac.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Voždovac:
Nebojša Atanacković of the Serbian Renewal Movement was chosen as mayor after the election.
Vračar.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Vračar:
Milena Milošević of the Democratic Party was chosen as mayor after the election.
Zemun.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Zemun:
Radical Party leader Vojislav Šešelj was chosen as mayor after the election. He was replaced in 1998 by Stevo Dragišić.
Zvezdara.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Zvezdara:
Vučeta Mandić of "Zajedno" was chosen as mayor after the election.
Vojvodina.
South Bačka District.
Elections were held in all twelve municipalities of the South Bačka District. The "Zajedno" alliance won a convincing victory in Novi Sad, while the Socialist Party and Yugoslav Left won a number of the neighbouring jurisdictions. Independent candidates won a majority of seats in Bački Petrovac, and the Radical Party won the greatest number of seats in Temerin.
Novi Sad.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Novi Sad:
Mihajlo Svilar of the Serbian Renewal Movement was chosen as mayor after the election. He was replaced on 18 June 1997 by fellow SPO member Stevan Vrbaški. Gordana Čomić of the Democratic Party served on Novi Sad's executive committee in 1997.
Bač.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Bač:
Bačka Palanka.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Bačka Palanka:
Bački Petrovac.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Bački Petrovac:
Incumbent mayor Juraj Červenak was confirmed for another term in office after the election.
Bečej.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Bečej:
Incumbent mayor Endre Husag of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians was confirmed for another term in office after the election.
Beočin.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Beočin:
Srbobran.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Srbobran:
Sremski Karlovci.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Sremski Karlovci:
Temerin.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Temerin:
Titel.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Titel:
Vrbas.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Vrbas:
Žabalj.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Žabalj:
Đorđe Đukić of the Democratic Party was chosen as mayor after the election.
Central Serbia (excluding Belgrade).
Nišava District.
Local elections were held in the one city (Niš) and the six other municipalities of the Nišava District. Following the opposition protests, it was recognized that the "Zajedno" alliance won a majority of seats in the election for the City Assembly of Niš. The Socialist Party won majority victories in all six of the smaller communities.
Niš.
Results of the election for the City Assembly of Niš:
Zoran Živković of the Democratic Party was chosen as mayor after the election. Future mayor Goran Ćirić, also of the Democratic Party, was elected to the assembly and served as a member of its executive committee for the term that followed.
Zoran Krasić ran as a Radical Party candidate and was the party's presumptive nominee for mayor; he was not elected to the assembly.
Aleksinac.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Aleksinac:
Slobodan Stevanović of the Socialist Party served as mayor after the election.
Doljevac.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Doljevac:
Incumbent mayor Aleksandar Cvetković of the Socialist Party was confirmed for another term in office after the election.
Gadžin Han.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Gadžin Han:
Incumbent mayor Siniša Stamenković of the Socialist Party was confirmed for another term in office after the election.
Merošina.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Merošina:
Ražanj.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Ražanj:
Svrljig.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Svrljig:
Šumadija District.
Elections were held in all seven municipalities of the Šumadija District. The "Zajedno" coalition won in the city of Kragujevac and also in the municipality of Lapovo. The Socialist Party won majority victories in four of the other municipalities; in Batočina, the Yugoslav Left formed a minority administration with the support of the Socialists and some independent delegates.
Kragujevac.
Results of the election for the City Assembly of Kragujevac:
The Milošević government did not contest the opposition's victory in Kragujevac. Veroljub Stevanović of the Serbian Renewal Movement became mayor after the election. The "Zajedno" government in the city remained together for the full term that followed.
Aranđelovac.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Aranđelovac:
Batočina.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Batočina:
Slobodan Živulović of the Yugoslav Left served as mayor after the election.
Knić.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Knić:
Lapovo.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Lapovo:
Dragan Zlatković of the Serbian Renewal Movement served as mayor after the election. Future parliamentarian Mirko Čikiriz, also of the Serbian Renewal Movement, served as secretary of the municipal assembly and the municipal administration in 1997–98.
Rača.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Rača:
Topola.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Topola:
Incumbent mayor Žarko Jovanović of the Socialist Party of Serbia was confirmed for another term in office after the election.
Kosovo and Metohija.
The elections in Kosovo and Metohija were largely boycotted by members of the Kosovo Albanian community, which had set up parallel governing institutions in the province called the Republic of Kosova in 1991.
Kosovska Mitrovica District.
Local elections were held in all six municipalities of the Kosovska Mitrovica District. The Socialist Party won majority victories in all jurisdictions except Zvečan, where no party won a majority and an incumbent from the opposition was confirmed in office for another term.
Kosovska Mitrovica.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Kosovska Mitrovica:
Nikola Radović, presumably of the Socialist Party of Serbia, served as mayor after the election.
After the Kosovo War, Kosovska Mitrovica became divided between the predominantly Serb north and the predominantly