Tadic wins re-election in Serbia

Updated 23.30 Sun Feb 03 2008
Keywords: Tomislav Nikolic, Serbia, President Boris Tadic

Serbia's pro-Western President Boris Tadic has won re-election against nationalist challenger Tomislav Nikolic.

The election commission said it was a narrow victory for Mr Tadic, with a projected 51 percent of the vote.

The election commission said it was a narrow victory for Mr Tadic, with a projected 51 percent of the vote

The election was seen as a referendum on how Serbia should deal with the West after the imminent loss of the breakaway province of Kosovo.

President Tadic says European Union membership must remain Serbia's priority whatever happens - while Mr Nikolic advocates turning to Russia instead of the West.

Monitors put turnout at about 67 per cent, compared with 61 per cent in the first round two weeks ago. This would be the highest turnout since the 2000 election that ousted Slobodan Milosevic after more than a decade in power.

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