Voters went to the polling stations on May 20 for the second round of a presidential race that pitted two-term President Boris Tadic against nationalist Tomislav Nikolic for a five-year term as head of the Serbian state.
Ballots Cast In Serbia's Runoff Presidential Vote
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A man walks past election billboards in Belgrade that show presidential candidates Boris Tadic (right) and Tomislav Nikolic. Tadic won 26.7 percent and Nikolic 25.5 in the first round. (AFP PHOTO/ANDREJ ISAKOVIC)
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Two-term President Boris Tadic voted at a downtown Belgrade polling station on May 20, calling it "a very important day for Serbia and the five years ahead because the future path of Serbia will be redefined."
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Nikolic was joined by his wife, Dragica, at the polling station on May 20. A 60-year-old former cemetery manager, he has vowed to steer a pro-EU course but also warned he will not let Serbia join the bloc at any cost.
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One of the country's 8,500 polling stations on May 20, when some 6.7 million people were eligible to vote.
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Tadic won the endorsement between rounds of the Socialist Party that was once headed by the late Serbian strong man Slobodan Milosevic.
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Nikolic is a former senior member of the Serbian Radical Party who placed second behind Tadic in both the 2004 and the 2008 presidential elections.
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One of the thorny issues facing the winner will be how to proceed over Kosovo, which declared independence from Belgrade in 2008 but whose sovereignty Serbia has staunchly opposed.
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Another problem is economic, with Serbia's 24 percent jobless rate among the highest in Europe.
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Tadic supporters wave Serbian and EU flags at a May 17 rally. Tadic says a third term would be dedicated to European integration and economic development. (REUTERS/Ivan Milutinovic)
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Tadic (left) was accompanied to a downtown-Belgrade polling station on May 20 by daughter Vanja and father Ljuba Tadic (in wheelchair). (REUTERS/Ivan Milutinovic)
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Billboards from the Tadic and Nikolic campaigns when they last clashed for the presidency, in 2008.
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Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) leader Nikolic alleged fraud in the May 6 first round of voting, but subsequently backed off a threat to boycott the second-round runoff.
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A voter casts his ballot in Belgrade in the May 20 runoff vote.
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Tadic (left) and Nikolic (center) took part in a televised debate on May 16. Their parties were neck-and-neck in parliamentary elections that accompanied the first round. (REUTERS/Radio Television Serbia Press service/Handout)
