Belgrade, Sept 19: Serbia's top court has ruled that a former general who commanded Yugoslav troops in Kosovo may run for president in next week's elections in the Yugoslav republic, an election official said. Serbia's election commission had rejected Colonel General Nebojsa Pavkovic's candidacy because he failed to provide the required 10,000 signatures in support of his running. But the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that Pavkovic could run anyway because the commission had failed to consider a complaint he had filed, the independent beta news agency reported.
Calls to the Supreme Court went unanswered yesterday, but Radoslav Banovic, head of the state commission, confirmed the court's ruling and said the commission was set to consider it at a session yesterday.
Pavkovic was fired in June, but created a stir when he initially refused to accept his termination.
In 1999, he led troops in the crackdown on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, but later disobeyed Milosevic's order to crack down on anti-Milosevic protesters.
If the commission abides by the court's ruling, Pavkovic's name would be added to the list of 10 candidates for the September 29 vote. Even if accepted, his chances of winning the race are considered slim.
Among the top runners is Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica, whose current office could disappear as part of major constitutional reforms reshaping Yugoslavia into a loose union of its two republics, Serbia and Montenegro. Bureau Report