Reformer Wins in Slovenia as 2 Yugoslav Republics Vote

A Communist reformer won a runoff presidential election in Slovenia on Sunday, and a non-Communist center-right party led in parliamentary elections in the neighboring Yugoslav republic of Croatia.

The elections enabled voters in the two republics to choose among Communist reformers and Western-oriented leaders and could further divide the Yugoslav federation.

Communist-ruled Serbia, the largest of Yugoslavia’s six republics, has accused some leaders in the two republics of being fascist and bent on secession from the Balkan nation of 23 million.

With 75% of the vote counted in Slovenia, reform Communist Milan Kucan had 57.9% of the vote while his opponent, Joze Pucnik, won 42.1%.

Kucan formerly headed the Slovene Communist Party, renamed the Party of Democratic Reform. Pucnik, leader of the five-party DEMOS coalition, has advocated Slovenia’s secession from Yugoslavia.

In Croatia, where more than 30 parties were entered in the republic’s first free multi-party elections in 51 years, initial results showed the center-right Croatian Democratic Union leading in 13 out of the first 25 constituencies where counting was under way.

It was not clear whether the trend would continue. Croatia’s three-chamber Parliament has 356 seats.

The reformist Communist Party was second with a lead in 10 constituencies, and the middle-of-the-road Coalition of National Accord led in two districts.

Sunday’s balloting was for the Chamber of Counties and the Socio-Political Chamber.

A second round of voting will be held in two weeks in constituencies where no candidate won a majority.

Despite Pucnik’s loss in Slovenia, DEMOS will form the first non-Communist government in any of Yugoslavia’s six republics in 45 years. Two weeks ago, it won 55% of the seats in Slovenia’s regional legislature.