Western governments are claiming Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has lost electoral power although official results are still to be released.

Western nations that took part in the NATO military campaign, launched to end Yugoslav repression in Kosovo, last year have begun to laud an opposition victory. Europe and the U.S. backed claims by the main opposition leader Vojislav Kostunica that he has won, bringing to an end Milosevic's 13 years of power. He claims the Democratic Opposition of Serbia, an alliance of 18 parties, has taken more than 50 percent of the votes -- the vital cut-off point which would make a second round of voting next month unnecessary. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said all available information pointed to a clear lead for Kostunica. But the Federal Election Committee, which has the role of declaring the winner, has still to meet and is not expected to make the results available until Tuesday. UK Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said Milosevic should go while the Italian Foreign Secretary, Lamberto Dini, said there would be "devastating consequences" if the Yugoslav leader did not leave office. The U.S., Russia and Germany said it appeared Serb voters had opted for "democratic change." The elections are the first time the people of Yugoslavia has had a chance to directly elect a president and an estimated 70 percent of the electorate turned out to cast their vote. To win the presidency a candidate must secure at least 50 percent of the vote from Sunday's ballot otherwise the top two candidates will run-off in a second round of voting on October 8.