Under the prior system, local assembly members were elected by first-past-the-post balloting in single-member constituencies.
One-third of assembly mandates were assigned to candidates from successful electoral lists in numerical order.
The other two-thirds were assigned to other candidates on the same lists at the discretion of the sponsoring parties or coalitions; at least one quarter of the latter mandates were to be assigned to "members of the less represented sex on the list" (which, in practical terms, usually meant that these mandates were reserved for female candidates).
The Democratic Party won both the mayoral election and a plurality victory in the city assembly.
Results of the election for the City Assembly of Belgrade: The Democratic Alternative list did not receive three per cent of the total vote and so fell below the electoral threshold.
[5] The elections were generally a success for the Democratic Party, which finished first in most municipalities and ultimately attained the mayoralty in eleven.
The coalition fell apart in mid-2005, and local Radical Party leader Dragoljub Simonović became mayor at the head of a new governing alliance.
The Socialists and the Democratic Party withdrew their support in mid-2007, and Stojanović created a new coalition including the Radicals and Strength of Serbia Movement.
Parliamentarian Marko Đurišić received the largely honorary sixty-seventh and final position on the DS list and was not given a mandate.
[36] After a period of political upheaval, Vojislav Janošević of the Democratic Party became mayor in November 2005.
[46][47] Andreja Mladenović was elected from the second position on the Democratic Party of Serbia list and served in opposition.
[52] Ljubiša Stojmirović of the Radical Party became mayor on 18 February 2005; Popović returned to office on 28 June of the same year.
[57] Local elections were held in all three municipalities in the North Bačka District, and the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians won the mayoralties in all three jurisdictions.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Subotica: Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Bačka Topola: Future parliamentarian Árpád Fremond appeared on the list of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, although he was not awarded a mandate on this occasion.
Unlike Belgrade, Niš, and Vranje, Novi Sad does not have directly elected municipal assemblies.
Results of the election for the City Assembly of Novi Sad: The Radicals attained a working majority in the assembly with the support of the Socialists and the Democratic Party of Serbia (whose delegates aligned themselves with the Radicals over the objections of the party's leadership).
[69] Former mayor Milorad Mirčić, who had been defeated in 2000, was re-elected to the assembly after receiving the seventh position on the Radical Party's list.
Results of the election for the Municipal Assembly of Sremska Mitrovica: Ješić was a member of the Civic Alliance of Serbia in 2004.
[123][124] After six months of a stalemate, the Serbian government dissolved the assembly in March 2008 and appointed a provisional administration with Borović as its leader.
[178] A chaotic situation emerged in 2007, when two rival coalitions both claimed to hold a majority of seats in the local assembly.
Smiljko Kostić of New Serbia's political coalition somewhat unexpectedly won the mayoral contest in Niš, defeating Democratic Party incumbent Goran Ćirić in the second round.
It was only with difficulty that Kostić established a functional coalition government supported by the assembly, where New Serbia won only four out of sixty-one seats.
Generally, there was a trend toward membership of the local assemblies being divided among multiple parties, often with no group holding a clear advantage.
[227][228] Results of the election for the Municipal Council of Palilula, Niš: Bratislav Blagojević was expelled from the Democratic Party in June 2005 and later joined G17 Plus.
He was also the leader of a local group called "Movement for the South," which worked in alignment with the aforementioned parties.
Goran Ljubić's status as mayor was not affected, and the next local assembly elections after this took place as part of the regular cycle in 2008.
The newly formed United Serbia party won a significant victory in its home base of Jagodina, and independent populist Dobrivoje Budimirović (formerly of the Socialist Party of Serbia) won a first-round victory in Svilajnac.
The List for Sandžak coalition won the elections in the predominantly Bosniak municipalities of Novi Pazar and Tutin.
[306] The divided nature of the city's government led to an extremely tense political scene in the municipality.
The Serbian Renewal Movement won the mayoral contests in four jurisdictions (including Kragujevac), either on its own or in alliance with other parties.