BELGRADE, Serbia — Serbian voters rebuffed nationalist parties in parliamentary elections Sunday, indicating they wanted to move closer to Europe despite the recognition of Kosovo’s independence by many Western nations.
But despite their unexpectedly strong showing, pro-Western parties may not have enough support to form a governing coalition, and the country’s immediate future may be in the hands of the Socialist party of the late nationalist leader, Slobodan Milosevic.
Early projections from an independent monitoring group, the Center for Free Elections and Democracy (CESID), indicated that the pro-western Democratic Party of President Boris Tadic and its smaller allies won just under 40 percent of the vote, compared with less than 30 percent for the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party.
“The citizens of Serbia have clearly and unequivocally confirmed their commitment to the European course,” said a smiling Tadic as he declared victory Sunday evening after his party’s surprisingly strong showing. ap polls, and local betting halls, had predicted a win for the Radical Party, whose leader is facing war crimes charges in The Hague.
Sunday’s poll was widely seen as a referendum on Serbia’s future and whether it would turn toward Europe or Russia. Pro-western parties campaigned under the slogan “For a European Serbia,” promising to bring the country into the European Union and to woo foreign investment and capital.
“We are in Europe, we are part of Europe,” said Mirko Ciric, as he emerged from a polling station with his pregnant wife after voting for a pro-Western party. “I want a better life for my child, a life without worry.”
Nationalist parties like the Radicals and the Democratic Party of Serbia, led by Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, said Serbia should only join Europe as a whole nation, including Kosovo, which declared independence on Feb. 17.
