THOUSANDS of students demonstrated in the Serbian capital yesterday in the latest of a wave of protests at the cancellation of local election results by authorities dominated by the party of President Slobodan Milosevic.
The main opposition "Together" coalition claimed a major breakthrough in the November 17th ballot, saying it had won control of important towns, including the key prize of Belgrade.
However, electoral commissions, dominated by Mr Milosevic's Serbian Socialist Party, have since ruled that the elections should be cancelled in areas where the opposition had won, a move criticised by the United States on Monday.
The opposition has said it will boycott proposed reruns of the votes scheduled for today.
About 15,000 striking students held rallies outside major western embassies yesterday in support of the protest. They called on the authorities to "end their thieving" of votes. Tens of thousands were expected at a huge rally to be held last night in front of the Yugoslav parliament.
There were few uniformed police on the streets of Belgrade but, according to the opposition, anti-riot forces had been called out in some towns.
Tens of thousands of people have been on the streets every day since the elections. The largest demonstration to date was on Monday, with over 50,000 present. Protesters smashed the windows of the state-run television building and the daily newspaper Politika.
"If Slobodan Milosevic orders his police to stop us . . . we will put barricades around our free territory," said Mr Vuk Draskovic, head of the Serbian Renewal Movement and one of the coalition leaders.
In Washington a State Department spokesman, Mr Glyn Davies, said the annulment "undermines the electoral process and invalidates Serbia's claim to be a state evolving towards democracy."
The State Department said its representative in Belgrade had met President Milosevic twice to urge him to respect the outcome of the vote.
The United States maintains what it calls an "outer wall" of sanctions against Serbia which prevents Belgrade from getting international loans and joining international institutions.
EU foreign ministers on Monday delayed extension of the trade privileges accorded to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and its tiny partner republic Montenegro) in a protest over the events surrounding elections.
President Milosevic has avoided publicity since the local elections and has yet to react to the claims of electoral fraud or to an opposition request for a meeting.
State run television has played down the protests, understating the number of demonstrators and announcing a "big victory" for the ruling party.