(20 May 2012) The two main rivals for the Serbian leadership cast their votes as the country went to the polls on Sunday.
The election pits the pro-European leader of the Serbian Democratic Party, Boris Tadic, against the leader of the Serbian Progressive Party, Tomislav Nikolic, a nationalist who wants to bring Serbia closer to Russia.
Nikolic is threatening protests if he loses because of alleged ballot rigging.
The outcome of the vote is key for Serbia's plans to become a member of the European Union (EU), after being an isolated pariah state under late autocrat Slobodan Milosevic in the 1990s.
It also will determine whether Serbia continues to reconcile with its neighbours and wartime foes, including the former province of Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008.
Incumbent Tadic, who is seeking a third term, was slightly ahead of Nikolic in the first round of voting on May 6, while Nikolic's populist Serbian Progressive Party won the most votes for parliament, but is likely to stay without power because Tadic's Democrats have agreed to form the next government with the third-placed Socialists.
The nationalists have accused the Democrats of rigging the general vote, including the first-round presidential ballot - the charge that was rejected by authorities, but is fuelling fears of possible post-election violence.
"Serbia does not deserve a president who we think has stolen something," Nikolic, a former ultra-nationalist ally of war-time leader Milosevic, said after voting.
"I have said on many occasions that Serbia needs to change in order to move forward," he also said. "Everything else is in the hands of the Serbian citizens. I hope that the elections will be fair and honest."
Tadic, who championed Serbia's bid to become a EU member, was leading the pre-runoff polls, but the pro-democratic voters are known to be less enthusiastic than the nationalists when it comes to casting their ballots.
Election observers said turnout was low in the initial hours of voting on Sunday.
"I expect that the election will show once again that the Serbian orientation towards the EU is crystal clear," Tadic said after casting his ballot. "I am very optimistic."
Tadic has built his presidential bid around his pro-Western policies, but his biggest problem remains the economic downturn and corruption within the ruling elite.
Faced with the global financial crisis, which slowed down much needed foreign investments, Tadic's government has seen massive job losses and plummeting living standards.
Nikolic, who narrowly lost two earlier presidential votes against Tadic, claims to have shifted from being staunchly anti-Western to pro-EU - the change widely believed to be a ploy to gain more votes.
Nikolic has close ties with Russia and has in the past even envisaged Serbia as a Russian province.
Nikolic's populism has struck a chord with voters, who warmed to his criticism of widespread social injustice and corruption in Serbia and promises of jobs, financial security and billions of dollars in foreign investment.
Tadic has also overseen a more conciliatory stance towards Serbia's neighbours and war foes in the 1990s, including Kosovo, the former province that is considered by nationalists as the cradle of Serbia's state and religion.
Nikolic has said he would abandon the EU plan if it means that Serbia must give up the claim on Kosovo.
He has forged an alliance with the staunchly anti-EU party of former premier, Vojislav Kostunica.
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