Serbian Election Results

We welcome Sunday's orderly elections in Serbia and commend the Serbian people for their participation in the democratic process. As has been noted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other international observers, Sunday's elections were conducted freely and fairly, with no major incidents reported. We fully support the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights recommendations, particularly those regarding urgent revisions to the electoral law.

We urge the parties which will enter the new Parliament to reach a consensus and form a new government quickly to continue the reform processes begun in October 2000.  We expect those parties representing democratic ideals and standards to continue the process of economic, judicial and military reform, as well as support full implementation of the Dayton agreement, full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) including the arrest and transfer of Ratko Mladic to the ICTY for trial and good relations with neighboring countries, thereby allowing Serbia and Montenegro to attain full membership in Euro-Atlantic institutions.

The Government of the United States is committed to assisting Serbia and Montenegro during the difficult, but necessary, transition process and looks forward to working with the new government in Belgrade in achieving our mutual goals.

2003/1298