Tadic on course to win election in Serbia

SERBIA: Serbian president Boris Tadic was on course last night to narrowly win an election that was expected to push the country either closer to membership of the European Union or to a resurgent Russia.

Exit polls and independent monitors said the pro-EU liberal took about 51 per cent of votes and ultranationalist Russophile Tomislav Nikolic about 49 per ent, but warned that the final outcome could be in the balance until all ballots were counted.

Official preliminary results are expected today.

Monitors put turnout at about 67 per cent, compared to 61 per cent in the first round two weeks ago.

This would be the highest turnout since the 2000 election that ousted the late autocrat Slobodan Milosevic after more than a decade in power.

Looming independence for the 90-per cent Albanian region of Kosovo provided the backdrop to the elections.

Both men opposed the move, but while Mr Tadic said Serbia should continue to pursue the goal of EU accession, Mr Nikolic vowed to cut ties with the bloc if it went ahead with plans to recognises the province's sovereignty.

"This is a referendum. I am sure we will choose the path to the EU," Mr Tadic (50) said after casting his vote.

"I am convinced this nation wants something better rather than a return to isolation. Serbia undoubtedly is moving toward full membership in the European Union and a better life."

Mr Nikolic (55) has slightly softened his rhetoric in recent weeks, and his Radical Party is Serbia's most popular because it appeals not only to the country's many nationalists, but to millions of poor who have gained little from life under liberals like Mr Tadic.

"Without me Serbia has no future, it is a country in agony and decline," the former cemetery manager said yesterday. "Serbia is longing for changes, and I am ready to make them happen."

Mr Nikolic said Serbia must seek to balance its relations with the EU and Russia - but would be forced into Russia's arms by Brussels's recognition of Kosovo's independence, something Moscow strongly opposes.

"Serbia is close to both the European Union and Russia," he said after voting.

"But Russia is more supportive, a partner that does not put any conditions on us, so at the moment it is a much better partner for us."

Russia has just bought control of Serbia's state oil firm and plans to build a major pipeline through the country and make it a key gas storage hub for the Balkans.

Brussels feared a Serbia under Mr Nikolic could work against its interests in the region and be a troublesome pro-Russian enclave among would-be EU member states.

It also believed Mr Nikolic would abandon the search for war crimes suspects like Ratko Mladic, the man accused of leading the 1995 Srebrenica genocide of Bosnian Muslims. His capture is seen as a condition of EU membership.

The EU tried to boost Mr Tadic's election chances by delaying a final decision on Kosovo's status and offering to sign a deal this week to foster stronger ties with Belgrade and allow Serbs to travel around the 27-member bloc without a visa.

"We have just recovered a little, we must not stop now," said lawyer Dusan Andjic (40) after voting for Mr Tadic.

"This is really a matter of life and death." Darinka Rajicic was just one of millions of voters who voted differently, however.

"Nikolic is our light in the darkness, he is a Serb hero," said the Belgrade housewife.

"He will bring us closer to mother Russia and he will keep Kosovo in Serbia."