General elections were held in Serbia, a constituent federal unit of SFR Yugoslavia, on 12 November 1989, to elect the president of the presidency of the Socialist Republic of Serbia and delegates of the Assembly of SR Serbia. Voting for delegates also took place on 10 and 30 November 1989. In addition to the general elections, local elections were held simultaneously. These were the first direct elections conducted after the adoption of the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution and the delegate electoral system, and the last elections conducted under a one-party system.
The election was preceded by the rise of Slobodan Miloà ¡eviÃÂ, who, after being elected president of the presidency of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia (SKS) in 1986, ousted his mentor Ivan Stamboliàand his allies from key positions in 1987. The anti-bureaucratic revolution began and the constitution of Serbia was amended after Miloà ¡eviàcame to power. After Miloà ¡eviàwas appointed to the position of president of the presidency of SR Serbia in May 1989, presidential and parliamentary elections were announced for November 1989.
Miloà ¡eviÃÂ, Mihalj Kertes, Zoran PjaniÃÂ, and Miroslav ÃÂorÃÂeviàwere the candidates in the presidential election; Miloà ¡eviàwon the election in a landslide. SKS won 303 seats, a net loss of 20 seats in comparison with the 1986 election, and 37 individuals who were not members of SKS won the rest of the seats in the Assembly. The League of Communists of Yugoslavia ceased to exist in 1990, and after a referendum in July 1990, Serbia adopted a new constitution that implemented a multi-party system and reduced the powers of its autonomous provinces, Kosovo and Vojvodina. The first multi-party elections were then held in December 1990.
After World War II, the Communist Party consolidated power in Yugoslavia, transforming the country into a socialist state. Each constituent republic had its own branch of the Communist party, with Serbia having the Communist Party of Serbia. The federal Communist party renamed itself the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ) at its 6th Congress in 1952. Its branches did the same; the Communist Party of Serbia became the League of Communists of Serbia (SKS). Josip Broz Tito was the president of SKJ until his death in 1980.
After Tito's death, Yugoslavia was faced with issues related to the economy, constitutional problems, and a potential rise in ethnic nationalism. Yugoslavia initially implemented austerity measures to reduce its debt. A swift increase in debt, inflation, and unemployment was seen in the 1980s instead. According to publicist Zlatoje Martinov, the republics got "stronger and became de facto states with their own armed forces" (sve vià ¡e jaÃÂaju i predstavljaju faktiÃÂke drà ¾ave sa sopstvenim oruà ¾anim snagama) because of the crises. Martinov also said that the gradual process of the dissolution of Yugoslavia was underway. Following the 1986 parliamentary election, Desimir Jevtiàbecame the prime minister of Serbia.
Ivan StamboliÃÂ, the president of the City Committee of the League of Communists of Belgrade, was elected president of the presidency of the Central Committee of SKS in 1984. Considered a political reformist within SKS, Stamboliàwas the mentor of Slobodan Miloà ¡eviÃÂ, his colleague from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law. After becoming the president of the presidency of the Central Committee of SKS in 1984, Stamboliàappointed Miloà ¡eviàas his successor to his previous role, despite opposition from older Communist officials. Miloà ¡eviàthen began forming a faction of officials that were loyal to him.
Prior to the 1986 parliamentary election, Stamboliàannounced that he would step down from his position as the head of SKS. Despite receiving support from 84 municipal boards of SKS, Miloà ¡eviàwas still met with strong opposition inside the party. There were proposals to have several candidates in the leadership election, although, the presidency voted 12âÂÂ8 to propose Miloà ¡eviàas the sole candidate for the president of the presidency of the Central Committee of SKS. Miloà ¡eviàwas successfully elected president of SKS in May 1986, while Stamboliàalso began serving as president of Serbia after being elected by the presidency of the Central Committee of SKS. Dragià ¡a PavloviÃÂ, a reformist and StamboliÃÂ's ally, also became the president of the City Committee of the League of Communists of Belgrade.
Miloà ¡eviàtook a populist turn in April 1987. He began portraying himself as a supporter of Kosovo Serbs, and during one visit to Kosovo, he said to Serbs that "no one will dare to beat you" (ne sme niko da vas bije). During the same period, he became more critical of Stamboliàand PavloviÃÂ, particularly due to their moderate stance on Kosovo. Miloà ¡eviàcalled for a session of the Central Committee of SKS to be held in September 1987. At the session, Stamboliàtried to reconcile Pavloviàand Miloà ¡eviÃÂ, but Miloà ¡eviàinstead criticised Stamboliàand PavloviÃÂ. Pavloviàand StamboliÃÂ's other allies were then dismissed from their positions. Some political scientists have characterised the session as a coup d'état. Stamboliàwas isolated after the session and was removed from the position of president of Serbia in December 1987. He then retired from politics.
Beginning in 1988, protests, dubbed the anti-bureaucratic revolution, began in Serbia and Montenegro in support of Miloà ¡eviÃÂ's centralisation programme. Although Miloà ¡eviàdenied that he was directly involved in the protests, he actually had direct contact with the organisers. In Montenegro, the leadership was forced to resign. It was replaced by the pro-Miloà ¡eviàfaction, led by Momir BulatoviÃÂ. This soon followed in Vojvodina and Kosovo. In Vojvodina, Mihalj Kertes particularly became a prominent figure due to his statement, "How can you Serbs be afraid of Serbia, when I, a Hungarian, am not afraid of Serbia?". The Socialist Alliance of Working People of Serbia (SSRNS), a popular front organisation subordinate to SKS, proposed Miloà ¡eviàto the position of president of the presidency of the Socialist Republic of Serbia and was successfully appointed on 8 May 1989.
The aftermath of the 1988âÂÂ1989 anti-bureaucratic revolution saw amendments to the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution. As part of the 1974 constitution, Kosovo was granted full autonomy and was given equal voting status like the other six constituent republics. Following the protests in March 1989, Miloà ¡eviàproposed amendments that were soon accepted by the Assembly of SAP Kosovo and the Assembly of SR Serbia. The amendment revoked the powers that autonomous provinces Kosovo and Vojvodina received in the 1974 constitution.
At the time of the 1989 elections, Serbia's electoral system was in accordance with the 1974 constitution. Instead of directly electing members of the Assembly, citizens voted for the composition of delegation bodies. Members of these delegation bodies then elected delegates that served in the Assembly of SR Serbia. The voting system was complex; it combined elements of a direct, indirect, and first-past-the-post voting majoritarian system. Those who were 15 or older had the right to vote, and those who served in the army at the time of the elections were able to vote at their military stations. Invalid ballots were introduced with the 1989 elections; ballots that were blank or ballots that could not be used to determine who was voted for would be considered invalid.
The Assembly was divided into three councils. The Council of Associated Labour had 160 delegates, while the Council of Municipalities and Socio-Political Council each had 90 delegates. The delegates then elected members of the Presidency of the Socialist Republic of Serbia, the Council of the Republic, and a member of the Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. At the time of the 1989 elections, Serbia was still a one-party state but the 1989 elections were the first direct elections to be held since 1974.
The parliamentary election was conducted on three separate days: 10, 12, and 30 November 1989. Local elections were conducted on the same days as the parliamentary elections. The presidential election was only held on 12 November. Polling stations were opened from 07:00 () to 19:00.
The table below lists political parties elected to the Assembly of SR Serbia after the 1986 parliamentary election. In the Council of Associated Labour, there were 148 SKS delegates; in the Council of Municipalities, there were 88 SKS delegates; and in the Socio-Political Council, there were 87 SKS delegates. Most of the delegates were 50 years old or younger.
Following Miloà ¡eviÃÂ's appointment to the position of president of the presidency of SR Serbia, elections were called to dismiss any potential criticism on whether Miloà ¡eviÃÂ's appointment was "the wish of the people" (à ¾elja ÃÂitavog naroda). The presidential election thus served as a referendum on whether Miloà ¡eviàshould retain his position as president of the presidency. SKS stated that these "elections should show that we believe in the policies of our leadership" (izbori treba da pokaà ¾u da verujemo u politiku svog rukovodstva). At the time of the election, Bogdan Trifunoviàwas the president of the presidency of the Central Committee of SKS. As part of the pre-election campaign, over 10,000 delegation body conferences were organised in Serbia. There were 19,478 delegation bodies that had 346,518 members in total.
At a SSRNS session on 1 November 1989, Miloà ¡eviàwas officially proposed as a presidential candidate. So the presidential election would be perceived as democratic, multiple candidates were proposed for the election by SSRNS. However, no candidate initially wanted to risk running against Miloà ¡eviÃÂ. SSRNS then proposed the final four candidates, these being Miloà ¡eviÃÂ, Kertes, and professors Zoran Pjaniàand Miroslav ÃÂorÃÂeviÃÂ.
According to a Politika report from November 1989, 14,855 polling stations were opened during the elections. The results of the elections were announced on 20 November, eight days after the election was held.
Beginning on 13 November, Radio-Television Belgrade and Politika reported turnouts and results. It was reported that in Kurà ¡umlija that 99 percent of voters voted for Miloà ¡eviÃÂ, and that in some villages of the municipality of Kraljevo, Miloà ¡eviàwon all votes. Similar results were reported in KaÃÂanik, while in VuÃÂitrn, Kertes won the most votes. In the Sandà ¾ak region, Miloà ¡eviàwon the most votes. The turnout was later reported to be at 83 percent and Miloà ¡eviàwon 80 percent of all votes cast. Miloà ¡eviàwon most of his votes in Central Serbia, followed by Vojvodina, and then Kosovo, where he only won 25 percent of the popular vote. In Belgrade, Miloà ¡eviàreceived 93 percent of the popular vote. Pjaniàplaced second with 4 percent, Kertes third with 3.3 percent, and ÃÂorÃÂeviàfourth with 2.7 percent. Turnout in Belgrade was 80.3 percent.
For the parliamentary elections, there were 6,640,675 registered citizens who had the right to vote in total. 82 percent of the registered voters exercised their right to vote in the election. In the parliamentary election, SKS won 303 seats in the Assembly of SR Serbia, a decrease of 20 seats in comparison with the 1986 parliamentary election. 37 of those who were not affiliated with SKS were elected in the election. In the Council of Associated Labour, 134 SKS delegates were elected; in the Council of Municipalities, 84 SKS delegates were elected; and in the Socio-Political Council, 85 SKS delegates were elected.
The Assembly of SR Serbia was constituted on 5 December 1989. Zoran Sokoloviàwas elected president of the Assembly, while Vukaà ¡in JokanoviÃÂ, Slobodan JanjiÃÂ, and ÃÂorÃÂe à  ÃÂepanÃÂeviàwere elected vice-presidents of the Assembly. Stanko Radmiloviàwas elected prime minister of Serbia, while on 6 December, the Assembly of SR Serbia officially declared Miloà ¡eviàas the president of the presidency. Radmiloviàwas a Miloà ¡eviàloyalist.
Miloà ¡eviàproposed reforms to the Federal Assembly of Yugoslavia in 1989. These proposals were opposed by the Slovene delegation, which favoured keeping the composition in accordance with the 1974 constitution. Because of the dispute, the first and only extraordinary congress was organised for 1990. The 14th congress, held in Sava Centar, Belgrade, was eventually organised for 20âÂÂ23 January 1990. Presided over by Milan PanÃÂevski, the congress was attended by over 1,600 delegates from all six constituent republics and two autonomous provinces.
The congress started with a polemic between Borut Pahor and Milomir MiniÃÂ, and it continued with Milan KuÃÂan saying that Slovenes reject Serbia's proposed centralisation policies. Ciril RibiÃÂiàand the Slovene delegation expressed their disappointment with the first plenary session of the 14th congress. The head of the Serbian delegation, Miloà ¡eviÃÂ, proposed to introduce a "one manâÂÂone vote" system but, this was also opposed by the Slovene delegation, which favoured the reconstruction of SKJ and Yugoslavia to a confederal system instead. With the help of Kosovo, Vojvodina, Montenegro, and Yugoslav People's Army delegates, all proposals from the Slovene and Bosnian delegations were rejected while Serbia's proposals were accepted.
At the second plenary session, the Slovene delegation left the Congress, stating that they did not want to be responsible "for the agony of LC of Yugoslavia into which the current impositions of will and the bearers of those impositions are leading it" (ne à ¾ele biti suodgovorni za agoniju SK Jugoslavije u koju je vode sadaà ¡nja nametanja volje i nosioci tih nametanja). Despite Miloà ¡eviàwanting to continue the congress without the Slovene delegation, the Croatian delegation, led by Ivica RaÃÂan, objected to this. The Croatian delegation, joined by the Macedonian and Bosnian and Herzegovinian delegations, left the congress soon after. PanÃÂevski adjourned the session to 3 a.m. for 23 January; on 23 January, the rest of Serbia's proposals were accepted. The third plenary session of the 14th congress never occurred, and SKJ ceased to exist.
While Serbia was still a one-party state, a referendum was organised in July 1990 on whether to adopt a new constitution or to hold multi-party elections first. A majority of voters voted in favour of adopting a new constitution despite Kosovo Albanians boycotting the referendum; the constitution was adopted in September 1990. The first multi-party elections were held in December 1990.
With the adoption of the 1990 constitution, the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina were renamed to Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija and Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, respectively, while the Socialist Republic of Serbia was renamed to the Republic of Serbia. The power of the provinces were greatly reduced. Serbia's electoral system was also changed; the delegate system was abolished, Assembly of SR Serbia was renamed to the National Assembly, and the number of seats was decreased to 250. The president of the National Assembly was also the one who would schedule parliamentary and presidential elections.
Serbia also became a multi-party state, meaning that under the Law on Political Organisations, political parties could be registered to take part in future elections. SKS merged with the Socialist Alliance of Working People of Yugoslavia to create the Socialist Party of Serbia, while opposition parties, like the Democratic Party, Serbian Renewal Movement, People's Radical Party, and People's Peasant Party also registered as political parties.