Thousands of opposition supporters gathered in downtown Belgrade and in other Serbian towns, some of them shouting ''victory, victory'', to await results from yesterday's crucial elections.
The opposition rallies were much bigger than hastily organised pro-government events in the same towns following the presidential and parliamentary polls.
In Belgrade, around 50 to 60 riot police stood between the two groups, which had gathered less than 100 yards from each other as an opposition official read out election results from a balcony.
Reporters at the scene said there were about 5000 to 6000 opposition supporters in the centre of the capital, with around 100 backers of Yugoslav President Milosevic in nearby Republic Square.
They said there was a scuffle at one point between opposition supporters and police, but the situation later seemed to be calm.
In the northern city of Novi Sad, around 10,000 opponents of the Serbian strongman gathered, while about 500 government supporters attended a concert. The situation was similar in other towns.
At the rally organised by the authorities in Belgrade's Republic Square, hundreds of people earlier gathered in front of a huge stage, set up earlier in the day by Serbian State Television, to hear folk songs from local groups.
That crowd later dwindled to at most 100. Opposition supporters jeered at them and sang songs mocking Milosevic.
In the town of Kragujevac, around 5000 opposition supporters attended a rally. A concert organised by Milosevic's ruling Socialist Party and the Yugoslav Left led by his wife Mirjana Markovic attracted about 500.
Similar turnout figures were reported from the town of Cacak, an opposition stronghold, and Kraljevo.
The Socialist Party announced some hours after polls closed that the president had a strong lead over the main opposition candidate Vojislav Kostunica, after trailing well behind him in independent pre-election polls.
According to the Socialists Milosevic led Kostunica by 50.28% over 30.76%, based on preliminary data from around 300 of 10,000 polling stations.
Earlier the opposition said that based on a sample of 70 polling stations across Serbia deemed to be representative, Kostunica had won in 63 and Milosevic in seven.
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