By
The Associated Press
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia - The Yugoslav constitutional court yesterday annulled parts of the contested presidential election in which the opposition claims President Slobodan Milosevic was defeated, the state-run Tanjug news agency said.
The statement indicated that the results of other races for parliament and local councils would be considered valid.
The impact of the court's ruling was not immediately known. The members of the court are known to be Milosevic supporters, but the appeal was brought by the opposition. If the presidential vote - or parts of it - must be repeated, it would buy Milosevic more time in office.
The announcement came on the eve of a planned mass rally in Belgrade which the opposition hoped would be the final push to force Milosevic to concede defeat to challenger Vojislav Kostunica.
Milosevic's acknowledged Kostunica finished first in a five-candidate field but without a majority needed to avoid a runoff Sunday. The opposition has rejected a runoff.
Opposition official Goran Svilanovic said he believes the opposition will also not agree to take part in a rerun of the first round.
"We have our elected president," he said. "These are things we can discuss, but my initial reaction is that there can be no bargaining."
The opposition, challenging the official findings of the Federal Electoral Commission, went to Yugoslavia's highest court earlier yesterday, appealing to the justices to grant them victory in the presidential elections.
The court met in emergency session yesterday to hear complaints by the 18-party opposition coalition, maintaining Milosevic's supporters manipulated election results by using a sophisticated software program.
Opposition leaders said they had obtained a copy of the program and would use it to illustrate how the vote was rigged to favor Milosevic's candidacy.
