SERBIA - ELECTION

Serb nationalist wins first-round president vote

Monday, January 21, 2008

Tomislav Nikolic won the first round of Serbia's presidential vote on Sunday, setting up a second-round contest that will shape Serbian ties with the West after the expected loss of Kosovo.

Nationalist Tomislav Nikolic
won the first round of Serbia's presidential election on Sunday,
setting up a run-off with the pro-Western incumbent that will
shape ties with the EU after the expected loss of Kosovo.


Results from the state election commission showed Nikolic
with 39.6 percent of the vote, not enough to win outright. He
will face pro-Western President Boris Tadic, who took 35.5
percent, in a Feb 3 run-off. The figures were released after 85
percent of the votes had been counted.


"I would think very hard before saying who is the
favourite," said political analyst Djordje Vukadinovic. "This
result indicates a very unpredictable race in the second round."


Analysts said a record 61 percent turnout reflected an
appreciation that the election has come at a pivotal moment for
Serbia as it faces the loss of its historic heartland Kosovo
where the Albanian majority is seeking independence.
"People realised it's a very important election as depending
on who wins, Serbia will decide its future orientation, to the
EU or Russia," said Djordje Vukovic of the CESID think-tank.


To win the run-off, the two candidates will have to attract
third party votes with promises of higher living standards, jobs
and the defence of Kosovo.


Indications by Washington and most EU member states that
they will recognise Kosovo as independent within months have
irked Serbs who feel the country has paid enough for its role in
the wars of the 1990s.


Nikolic, whose Radical Party supported the policies of late
autocrat Slobodan Milosevic during the 1990s, says Russia will
avert that, and favours a neutral stance between East and West.


He has toned down his rhetoric to appeal to moderates as
well as the one third of Serbs who live just above the poverty
line. He rejects accusations of isolationism and war-mongering.


"Citizens have shown their wish for change," he said on
Sunday. "I want to unite Serbia, to put it on a better path."


Tadic also opposes independence for Kosovo but favours
signing a first-level agreement with the EU even if the bloc
takes over Kosovo's supervision as a prelude to recognising the
territory.


Tadic, who defeated Nikolic in a run-off in 2004 after his
rival won the first round, has warned that a Nikolic victory
would drive the country back to the Milosevic days.


"I will not allow us to go back to the 1990s," he said.


"I will not give up the struggle for Kosovo nor the struggle
for a European future."

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related links

20/01/08 Serb nationalist wins first round of vote
20/01/08 High turnout for Serbian presidential election
20/01/08 Serbia elects president as Kosovo breakaway looms
19/01/08 Serbia election hinges on EU candidacy debate
17/01/08 Serbia urges UN to reject Kosovo's independence