The largest demonstrations in Serbia since 1990 were held on October 5, 23 years ago in central Belgrade, ending the rule of the then president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) Slobodan Milosevic.

The October 5 protests were preceded by federal and local elections, held in an atmosphere of fear on September 24, 2000. In spite this, the voter turnout exceeded all expectations, and the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) candidate Vojislav Kostunica defeated Slobodan Milosevic.

However, the Federal Election Commission said Kostunica failed to win the required fifty percent of votes in the first round of election, so days-long protests across Serbia followed.

At the invitation of DOS members, on October 5 protesters from all over Serbia came to the capital in convoys of cars, busses and trucks, pushing their way through police roadblocks, and gathering at a plateau in front of the then Federal Assembly.

The police used teargas to disperse the crowd and prevent the protesters from breaking into the Parliament building, yet the building was demolished and a part of it was set on fire. Not long after, the police stopped resisting, and most joined the protesters.

In the evening hours of October 5, the new President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Vojislav Kostunica, addressed the citizens from the terrace of the Belgrade Parliament. Milosevic acknowledged his defeat the next day.

The October 5 demonstrations also led to the fall of the Milosevic rule at the republic level, so the Socialist Party of Serbia, the Serbian Renewal Movement and the Democratic Opposition of Serbia signed on October 16 an agreement under which they were to share power in Serbia until new early parliamentary elections, which were held on December 23, 2000.