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BELGRADE-Serbians voted Sunday in a presidential election seen as crucial for the Balkan state's future in Europe with tensions rising as its breakaway province of Kosovo heads toward independence.Pro-Western reformer, Boris Tadic, the incumbent, and ultranationalist Euro-sceptic Tomislav Nikolic are in a neck-and-neck race at the head of nine candidates seeking the support of the 6.7 million electorate.But neither are expected to get a majority in the first round and Tadic and Nikolic should settle the political battle in a run-off on February 3-a repeat of the 2004 election which Tadic narrowly won.Kosovo, which plans to soon make a formal declaration of independence, and links with the European Union have dominated the campaign.The outcome could bring Serbia closer into Europe or threaten a return to the international pariah status that it suffered under late nationalist strongman Slobodan Milosevic during the 1990s.A poll released by the non-government Center For Free Elections and Democracy (CESID) this week put Tadic, the leader of the Democratic party who wants closer ties to Europe, on 19 percent, and Nikolic, an opponent of NATO and the United States, whose Serbian Radicals is the biggest party in parliament, on 21 percent.Analysts believe turnout levels could play a decisive role. Moderate voters are regarded as less disciplined than nationalists, so strong participation would favour Tadic.First turnout figures showed that some five percent of the electorate has cast their ballots in the first two hours of vote, which opened at 7:00 am (0600 GMT). Voting stations stay open for 13 hours.Only limited voting was going ahead in Kosovo, where the majority ethnic Albanian population have boycotted Serbian elections since the early 1990s.Veljko Odalovic, an electoral commission official, told Tanjug news agency that 277 polling stations in Serb-populated enclaves in Kosovo were open for the 112,000 registered voters, mostly Serbs and non-Albanians.Both Tadic and Nikolic oppose the independence of Kosovo, which now wants to breakaway following the failure of two years of negotiations with Belgrade over its future status.The leadership of the province of about 1.9 million people is backed by the United States and most of the European Union.Serbia, which considers Kosovo a cradle of its nation and Orthodox Chritian religion, has been supported by Russia in rejecting independence and offering only very wide autonomy.The West favours Tadic as he is considered best able to resist an expected nationalist surge after a split, which is expected soon after the election.Amid growing anti-EU sentiment because of its support for Kosovo, Tadic has insisted that Serbia "must continue its European path.""I voted for a candidate who will bring better future to our children," said 78-year old retired teacher Nada Jaukovic, echoing one of the main concerns in a country where the average monthly salary is below 400 euros (585 dollars)."We need leaders who will take us out of the misery," said Zdravko Zarkovic.The EU has demanded the arrest of remaining suspects indicted over their role in the Balkans conflict of the 1990s, as a condition for closer links. Among the fugitives are former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic.Nikolic fiercely opposes the UN war crimes tribunal and has vowed to "do everything to prevent" Kosovo's independence and to strengthen ties with Russia.The Serbian president serves for five years and while the powers are limited the head of state has major symbolic influence.Much attention has been focused on Vojislav Kostunica, the conservative prime minister who is backing his infrastructure minister, Velimir Ilic, a nationalist from the New Serbia party, despite being in Tadic's ruling coalition.Kostunica's choice in the second round could prove decisive, as analysts predict it will be extremely tight.Preliminary unofficial results were expected later Sunday, with final results only announced by Thursday.Twenty-three monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and eight from Russia were watching the voting, alongside more than 3,000 CESID observers.The electoral commission refused to allow US and British embassy monitors to observe the polls, despite the government's backing and a Supreme Court order giving them access to polling stations.
As in the days of Noah....
