Pro-EU parties take surprise lead in Serbian election

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: The Guardian

Serbia appeared last night to have rejected a sharp turn away from Europe, when pro-European parties secured a surprising lead in a general election that anti-EU nationalists had been widely expected to win.

The president, Boris Tadic, told cheering supporters that his Coalition for a European Serbia had pulled off a convincing victory, after early results gave it a 10-point lead over the ultranationalist Serbian Radical party. But it was unclear whether the president's party would be able to form the next government, because smaller blocs may yet side with the nationalists.

With about half of the vote counted, the Centre for Free Elections and Democracy said Tadic's bloc had won "a very convincing victory", with about 39% of the vote. The Serbian Radical party, led by Tomislav Nikolic, won 28.6%. Vojislav Kostunica, the nationalist prime minister who triggered the elections by breaking with the president over Kosovan independence, saw his conservative bloc get 11.6%.

The Socialist party, which endured a steep decline after its leader Slobodan Milosevic was ousted in 2000, appeared to make unexpected gains, with about 8.2%, and could play a crucial role in the makeup of the next government.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/12/serbia.kosovo