Serbian Presidential Election Heading for Runoff

Posted May 6th, 2012 at 6:10 pm (UTC-5)
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First results in Serbia show the country's presidential election going to a runoff.

Projections late Sunday show the incumbent president, Boris Tadic of the Democratic Party, slightly ahead of his main challenger, Tomislav Nikolic of the nationalist Serbian Progressive Party.

Neither contender has even 30 percent of the vote, and a majority is necessary to win the election, so current results indicate Mr. Tadic and Mr. Nikolic will face off in a second-round vote on May 20.

While both candidates support Serbian membership in the European Union, Mr. Nikolic is seeking to take advantage of voter anger with the Serbian economy and its 24 percent unemployment.

Under the Democratic Party, Serbia emerged from decades of international isolation driven by war and ethnic tension.

Serbian voters also cast ballots for parliament and local officials, and Serbian citizens living in Kosovo also voted Sunday.