Page "Politics of Serbia and Montenegro" Paragraph 4

On October 5, 2000, Slobodan Milošević was forced to concede defeat after days of mass protests across Serbia.

New FRY President Vojislav Koštunica was supported by Zoran Đinđić, who was elected Prime Minister of Serbia in the December republican elections.

After an initial honeymoon period in the wake of October 5, DSS and the rest of DOS, led by Đinđić and his DS, found themselves increasingly at odds over the nature and pace of the governments ' reform programs.

By mid 2002, Koštunica and Đinđić were openly at odds over the direction of the country's future.

Koštunica's party, having informally withdrawn from all DOS decision-making bodies, was agitating for early elections in an effort to force Đinđić from the scene.

After the initial euphoria of replacing Milošević, the Serbian population, in reaction to this political maneuvering, was sliding into apathy and disillusionment with its leading politicians.

This political stalemate continued for much of 2002, and reform initiatives stalled.

Finally in February 2003, the Constitutional Charter was ratified by both republics, and the FRY Parliament and the name of the country was changed from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to Serbia and Montenegro.

Under the new Constitutional Charter, most federal functions and authorities devolved to the republic level.

The post of President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, held by Vojislav Koštunica, ceased to exist once Svetozar Marović was elected President of Serbia and Montenegro.