http://www.centraleurope.com/yugoslaviatoday/news.php3?id=264284&section=default

New Serbian Parliament Meets, Djindjic Named Premier

BELGRADE, Jan 23, 2001 -- (Reuters) Serbia's new parliament held its first
session on Monday, paving the way for a reformist government to take office
later
this week after the crushing defeat of Slobodan Milosevic's Socialists.

In another key development in the democratic transition process, Serbian
President Milan Milutinovic formally nominated leading reformer Zoran Djindjic
as the new prime minister, Beta news agency said, quoting from an official
statement.

Milutinovic is a Milosevic ally who has been indicted along with his longtime
political master on Kosovo war crimes charges. But he has shown a willingness to
work with the DOS reform alliance since Milosevic was ousted on October 5.

Djindjic played a key role in the downfall of Milosevic and his nomination as
new
premier was widely anticipated.

At an inaugural session that ended around 5 p.m., the 250-seat legislature of
Yugoslavia's dominant republic verified deputies' mandates and elected the
speaker, deputy speakers, and other assembly officials.

The session took place a month after a general election in which the DOS
trounced the long-ruling Socialists.

New parliamentary speaker Dragan Marsicanin, elected by a large majority, said
he expected the assembly to appoint Djindjic and his cabinet at a session
planned
for Thursday.

It will also meet on Tuesday to discuss planned legislation reducing the number
of
ministries to 16 from 24.

"We have to restore parliament's dignity and start rebuilding a parliamentary
democracy in Serbia after several decades," Marsicanin told parliament after
being elected.

"This day in the Serbian parliament will go down in history as a significant one
only if we succeed in our quest," said Marsicanin, a member of the Democratic
Party of Serbia led by new Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica.

DOS and the Socialists had formed an interim power-sharing government in
Serbia after a mass uprising forced Milosevic to concede to Kostunica in federal
presidential elections.

Once in power, Djindjic has pledged to move fast to introduce economic reforms
and clamp down on corruption in a country battered by the effects of a decade of
Balkan wars.

Serbia's future interior minister, Dusan Mihajlovic, told Reuters on Sunday that
one of his first tasks would be to put Milosevic under 24-hour surveillance.

In the new Serbian assembly, DOS holds 176 seats compared with 37 for the
Socialists.