Serb nationalist wins first round of presidential elections in Serbia
Monday, January 21, 2008

Tomislav Nikolic, the pro-Russian nationalist opposition candidate, won the first round of Serbia’s presidential elections on Sundays.

Mr. Nikolic took 39.6 percent of votes in the first round of voting in a field of nine candidates, ahead of 35.5 percent for Boris Tadic, the pro-Western president. The two men will compete in the runoff Feb. 3, foreshadowing a repeat of the 2004 race, which Tadic won with 53.2 percent.

The Feb. 3 presidential run-off is seen as a referendum on the Balkan country's future. The importance of the elections for the future direction of the country accounts for Sunday's 61 percent turnout, the highest in any Serbian elections – presidential or parliamentary – since the October 2000 “democratic revolution” that ended the rule of Slobodan Milosevic.

To win the second round, the candidates must also attract third-party votes with promises of higher living standards and jobs, as well as promising to keep Kosovo, which is heading for independence with Western support.

Both candidates oppose independence for the breakaway province of Kosovo, which is expected to be declared after the second-round vote - a move Russia backs Serbia in seeking to block.


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