Stankovic has been politically active, as a member of the Democratic Party, for two and a half years. He says that he became involved in politics "spontaneously". Now, it is his passion.
"I've wanted to help in some way since the protests in 1996/97. I wanted to do something. Since I do not have a private business, I did not have to join the SRS [in power in Zemun since 1996]. I knew some people from the Democratic Youth in Zemun and I became active there. Young people today do not care about politics, but my people from Zemun really think differently," says Stankovic.
Stankovic is aware of the true situation. Although hyperactive (he has recruited about seventy new members himself), he is aware who was responsible for his victory.
"He was defeated by himself, his family and his bodyguards. He behaved arrogantly, had speed bumps built in front of his house, and his bodyguards behaved as local policemen. The locals did not want to take that any more."
He has become a true media star these days, but he is dealing well with that. "I am more popular than Jelena Karleusa [famous Serbian pop-folk star]," he says. "My sister from Croatia called and said that even their TV had a report about me." His phone hasn't stopped ringing. His postman and dentist have congratulated him on victory.
The crowd was also addressed by the DOS representatives in the Federal Parliament, Miodrag Djidic, the president of the Democratic Party (DS) in Krusevac, and Milos Radulovic, the president of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) in Krusevac. They were frequently interrupted by applause and chants. They greeted everyone in the crowd, thanked voters for their support and promised that the future local authorities led by the DOS would be dutiful, responsible and efficient. The crowd was also addressed by the third DOS candidate for a representative in the Federal Parliament, Vlastimir Budimirovic. Budimirovic was not elected to the FP.
The DOS spokesperson in Krusevac, Slavisa Milenkovic, announced the unofficial election results. In the presidential elections in the electoral district Krusevac, Vojislav Kostunica received 52,330 votes, while Slobodan Milosevic received 27,044. In the elections for the upper chamber of the Federal Parliament, the DOS received 45,567 votes, or 54.6%, the SPS-JUL 24,825 votes, or 29.45%. In the elections for the lower chamber of the Federal Parliament, the DOS received 45,946 votes, of 54.7%, while the SPS-JUL received 24,841 votes, or 29.45%. According to the results provided by the election headquarters of the DOS, the DOS has won 43 out of 70 seats in the local council, the SPS-JUL 25, and the Serb Renewal Movement (SPO) 1. The future local council will also include one independent councilor.
The elections went without any bigger problems in all municipalities of the Rasina district. According to still unofficial results reported by RTV Krusevac, in the Cicavac Municipality, the SPS-JUL has won 18 seats in the local council, out of 33, the SPO 8 and the DOS five. There will be one independent councilor, and the elections will be repeated in one precinct. In the Trstenik Municipality, the DOS has won 17 seats, coalition "Zajedno" 16, the SPS 13 and there will be three independent councilors. The turnout was 86 percent.
In the Aleksandrovac Municipality, the future local council will include 29 councilors from the DOS, 22 from the SPS-JUL, three independents, and one SPO councilor. It should be mentioned that the SPS had 57, out of 58 seats in the local council in Aleksandrovac. The turnout was 79.45 percent and the elections will be repeated in three voting precincts. The local council of the Brus Municipality will include 27 SPS-JUL councilors, 5 DOS councilors, eleven independents and one SRS councilor. The turnout was about 70 percent.
The local council of the Varvarin Municipality will include 18 SPS councilors, 10 SPO councilors, 10 DOS councilors and one independent. The turnout was 74 percent and the elections will be repeated in one voting precinct.
By the way, none of the Socialists has appeared in the streets of liberated Krusevac since the election day. According to unofficial information, the Krusevac City Hall did not work on Monday and a slight change in the programming scheme of the local [government-controlled] TV station was noticeable. For example, the speech of Srdjan Milivojevic, an Otpor activist who has so far almost never been mentioned by this TV station, or was mentioned in negative context, was shown without editing last night.