Serbia's pro-EU parties defy forecasts to win election

SERBIA:SERBIA'S pro-European Union alliance defied predictions to win yesterday's general election, according to early predictions by independent monitors.

Parties led by President Boris Tadic's Democrats were "convincingly winning these elections", according to Zoran Lucic of the Centre for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID), but it was unclear whether they could form an effective coalition government.

Based on 50 per cent of their sample count, CeSID said the pro-EU coalition had won 39 per cent of the vote, against 28 per cent for the ultra-nationalist Radical Party, which was the pre-election favourite.

The Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) of outgoing nationalist prime minister Vojislav Kostunica had 11 per cent of votes, according to CeSID, ahead of the Socialists with at least eight per cent of the vote. If those figures were borne out in the final tally, Mr Tadic' liberal camp would win 103 places in Serbia's 250-seat parliament, compared with 76 seats for the Radicals, 30 for the DSS and 21 for the Socialists.

In the shadow of Kosovo's declaration of independence in February, the Radicals and Mr Kostunica vowed to defend Serbia's territorial integrity and reject any membership deal with the EU. The EU is deploying a mission to oversee the running of sovereign Kosovo, and most of its members have recognised its new status.

In the run-up to the election, however, in a bid to boost pro-EU parties, Brussels signed a pre-accession pact with the Democrats and offered the free visa to Serbs, who were plunged into international isolation by the 1990s Yugoslav wars.

Mr Tadic's opponents denounced him as a traitor for accepting that deal, which they claimed represented an acceptance of Kosovo's western-backed independence.

"We'll make Serbia a country of proud people again," Radical leader Tomislav Nikolic said after voting. "For the people of Serbia, today is the day they will feel a change for the better . . . when it will be worth living in Serbia."

Mr Nikolic has already offered Mr Kostunica the post of premier in any Radical-led government.

Despite predictions of defeat, Mr Tadic was defiant when he cast his ballot. "I am convinced Serbs will vote for life, prosperity, faster development," he said.

"I am convinced that people will vote for a European future. I am totally sure that a return to the 1990s would not be good for our country, which would happen if the Radicals return to power."