A nationalist Serb political party whose leader is on trial for war crimes is leading in the polls with over 28 per cent of the vote in the country's elections.
The electorate's support for the Radical Party casts a pall over European Union and United States expectations they would have a progressive Serb government to deal with when the future of breakaway Kosovo is decided and Serbia's EU membership hopes are reassessed.
"We are convinced that hard days lie ahead of Serbia," said Radical leader Tomislav Nikolic who claimed victory and acknowledged he needed to find a strong coalition partner.
Mr Nikolic said the pro-Western bloc had "once more failed to fool Serbia's citizens" and was now in panic.
The Radicals' official leader, Vojislav Seselj, is on trial in The Hague for war crimes.
The West's great hope, President Boris Tadic, led his opposition Democratic Party to about 23 per cent of the vote, nearly double its score in the 2003 election.
Mr Tadic said the parties of pro-Western persuasion outnumbered the monolithic Radicals, as they did in 2003, and that, as the biggest party in that bloc, his Democrats should form a government.
Outgoing prime minister Vojislav Kostunica, who echoed nationalist rhetoric in his campaign, won about 16 per cent of the vote and gave no clue on who he might join in coalition.