US pressing to topple Milosevic

There have been mounting calls for President Milosevic to quit

The US is urging opponents of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to unite behind a single candidate and topple him in the September elections.

The American Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, made the plea shortly before meeting Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic, who is a strong opponent of the Yugoslavian leader.

Mr Djukanovic and the leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), Vuk Draskovic, have been threatening to boycott the elections in protest at new laws making it easier for President Milosevic to win a further term in office.

In the September polls, President Milosevic and his ruling Socialists will face their first electoral test since the Kosovo conflict last year.

Draskovic has threatened election boycott

Yugoslavia's ruling party has already confirmed President Slobodan Milosevic as its official candidate.

Correspondents say Mr Milosevic remains favourite to win the election unless the currently fractured opposition unites behind a single candidate.

The announcement of a 24 September polling date ended weeks of speculation about the timing and nature of elections.

Boycott threat

Despite the Montenegro's threat of a boycott, most opposition parties have said they will participate in the vote.

"Taking part in the elections would only maintain and strengthen Milosevic's rule," said Montenegro's Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic.

Anti-Milosevic protests are met with stiff resistance

In a BBC interview, SPO leader Mr Draskovic added that without the participation of Montenegro it would not be a federal election.

Mr Milosevic has been in power for 10 years and under the old rules he would have had to step down next July. The new constitutional amendments allow him to run for two more four-year terms.

It will be the first time the president is elected by a simple majority of the popular vote, instead of by the federal parliament.

Under the new constitution, federal parliament deputies will also be elected by popular vote, instead of by separate assemblies in Montenegro and Serbia. Critics say it will make it easier for Mr Milosevic to push for candidates loyal to him.

So far, the SPO has refused to back a joint opposition candidate for president and supports its leader Vuk Draskovic.

International observers

The international community has criticised the changes to the constitution and has said it will not recognise the outcome of any election.

Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic says foreign observers would be invited to monitor the elections - but only from sympathetic or neutral countries.

International observers at previous elections under Mr Milosevic reported major rigging and vote tampering.

In the last few months there has been a government crackdown on opposition groups, with independent media closed down and dissidents detained.