Tomislav Nikolic, new Serbian president
22 May 2012 11:23 AM IST
Serb nationalist Tomislav Nikolic has upset the odds to defeat incumbent Boris Tadic in a presidential run-off but vowed to pursue his predecessor's drive for the Balkans nation to join the EU.
Nikolic, a one-time ally of the late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, led with 49.4 per cent in 70 per cent of polling stations surveyed while Tadic trailed at 47.4 per cent, initial estimates by independent election monitor CESID showed on Sunday. The nationalist's number two, Aleksandar Vucic, quickly claimed victory saying: 'Serbia has got a new president tonight: Tomislav Nikolic.' Tadic then conceded defeat.
'I congratulate him on the victory, it was a fair and well-earned victory and I wish him luck,' Tadic, who has been in power since 2004, said. According to the count of Nikolic's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) the nationalist leader was running ahead by 1.5 percentage points.
Surveys conducted just ahead of the second round had projected that Democratic Party leader Tadic would win comfortably with up to 58 per cent of the vote.
Tadic, 54, who brought the once international pariah state to the European Union's doorstep with candidacy status in March, had pitched his bid for a third term in office as a referendum on pursuing EU membership.
Nikolic, 60, promised to steer a pro-European course. 'Serbia will not turn away from the European path,' he said. 'These elections were not about who will take Serbia to the EU, but who will solve the economic problems created by the Democratic Party' of Boris Tadic, Nikolic added. The recent convert to the European cause has warned he would not join the 27-member bloc at any cost. 'This is a turning point for Serbia', he said.
'This was an electoral earthquake,' political analyst Slobodan Antonic said on Serbia's RTS state television. 'This will definitely change things in Serbia,' he said.
Nikolic, a one-time ally of the late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, led with 49.4 per cent in 70 per cent of polling stations surveyed while Tadic trailed at 47.4 per cent, initial estimates by independent election monitor CESID showed on Sunday. The nationalist's number two, Aleksandar Vucic, quickly claimed victory saying: 'Serbia has got a new president tonight: Tomislav Nikolic.' Tadic then conceded defeat.
'I congratulate him on the victory, it was a fair and well-earned victory and I wish him luck,' Tadic, who has been in power since 2004, said. According to the count of Nikolic's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) the nationalist leader was running ahead by 1.5 percentage points.
Surveys conducted just ahead of the second round had projected that Democratic Party leader Tadic would win comfortably with up to 58 per cent of the vote.
Tadic, 54, who brought the once international pariah state to the European Union's doorstep with candidacy status in March, had pitched his bid for a third term in office as a referendum on pursuing EU membership.
Nikolic, 60, promised to steer a pro-European course. 'Serbia will not turn away from the European path,' he said. 'These elections were not about who will take Serbia to the EU, but who will solve the economic problems created by the Democratic Party' of Boris Tadic, Nikolic added. The recent convert to the European cause has warned he would not join the 27-member bloc at any cost. 'This is a turning point for Serbia', he said.
'This was an electoral earthquake,' political analyst Slobodan Antonic said on Serbia's RTS state television. 'This will definitely change things in Serbia,' he said.
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