Chaos in eastern Slavonia poll

Chaotic elections yesterday in eastern Slavonia dented Croatian Serbs' confidence that they can have a say in their future. Polls opened late, many names were missing from voters' lists and even the ballot boxes were absent in some precincts in the region. In Ilok, a predominantly Croat city, Serbs were angered to find that most voter rolls list only Croats' names. "People are going home, angry," said the local Serb leader, Vojislav Stanimirovic.

Six years ago, rebel Serbs backed by the Yugoslav army captured the region in a brutal campaign Croatians have not forgotten. The Serbs of eastern Slavonia were voting for the first time in independent Croatia. AP - Vukovar