Twenty-five years ago, on October 5th, 2000, the years-long rule of Slobodan Milosevic came to an end. On that day, hundreds of thousands of citizens from all parts of the country gathered in Belgrade, demanding that the election results be respected.
06.10.2025. 13:14
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The massive protests culminated with demonstrators entering the buildings of the Federal Assembly and the national broadcaster RTS.
The events of October 5th led to the rise to power of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), and Vojislav Kostunica assumed the role of President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. At that time, many citizens expected rapid political and economic reforms, as well as progress toward European integration.
Srdjan Milivojevic, today's leader of the Democratic Party and a former member of the Otpor movement, told Newsmax Balkans that the events of October 5th were preceded by years of preparation.
Foto: Srđan Ilić
"It was already clear on July 27th , 2000, that everything would be over by that fall - the only question was which day it would be. October 5 wasn’t prepared just the day before - those preparations lasted a very, very long time. Let me remind you, elections were held on September 24th , 2000, which had been announced on July 27th , 2000. Those elections were scheduled after the then-State Security Service and others assessed that Slobodan Milosevic was finished," Milivojevic stated.
He added that the ruling coalition of SPS–JUL–SRS had lost the trust of a portion of the electorate.
"After losing Kosovo and Metohija, and Krajina, that man had nothing left to offer and no political ground to stand on. Eventually, various people pushed him to call those elections on July 27th . He was convinced he would win," he explained.
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AutorAccording to him, on October 4th it was already clear that a large number of people from other parts of the country were heading to Belgrade.
Milivojevic said they had a clear plan about who would do what.
Dragoljub Kocovic, a member of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), told Newsmax Balkans that Milosevic knew what was coming.
"He knew they were coming. He knew he would go to The Hague. He went there knowingly, to defend Serbia. They poisoned him - he was murdered there because they couldn’t break him," Kocovic emphasized.
According to him, Milosevic’s refusal to recognize the results of the September 24th elections was merely the pretext for the demonstrations.
The real reason, he claimed, lay in the fact that the country had spent the previous 11 years under sanctions, and in wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo and Metohija.
Foto: Srđan Ilić
In his view, Vojislav Kostunica did not actually win the elections. However, on October 6th, Milosevic acknowledged electoral defeat to avoid civil conflict.
"Slobodan Milosevic did not want a civil war. He told us we must not allow a single drop of Serbian blood to be spilled," Kocovic said.
He emphasized that Milosevic knew he would be extradited to The Hague, but did not want to flee - even though he could have.
Two and a half decades later, October 5th remains a subject of differing interpretations.
Some see it as a historic turning point that opened the path toward democratization, while others view it as a missed opportunity - arguing that the social and economic reforms ultimately failed to meet expectations.
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