SERBIA: Serbs vote in tight general election.

Serbs vote in general election expected to be a tight race between ultranationalists and pro-Western reformers. Opinion polls show the race is too close to call. The ultra-nationalist Radical Party led by Tomislav Nikolic and Serbia's President Boris Tadics pro-Western Democratic Party are polling about 30 percent, not enough to form a government alone. Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunicas Democratic Party of Serbia is in third place and seen as the kingmaker, equally likely to support either of its rivals in forming a government. "I'm expecting that these elections are going to show the right of Serbia's people to go in the European direction. I am pretty sure about that," Boris Tadic told reporters after casting his ballot. When asked what his party plans to do regarding handover of top war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic if it forms the new government, Tadic said: "I've been talking about that so many times, saying that we will finalise our cooperation with ICTY (International War Crimes Tribunal for former Yugoslavia) in the right way. If it means arresting him, we will do that. If he is not in Serbia we cannot arrest him but we will for sure finalise our cooperation with ICTY." Tadic's Democrats want Serbia to join the European Union, which it could have joined but for the decade of war former autocratic Serbian President Solobodan Milosevic instigated when Yugoslavia fell apart in 1991. "Today is a day of big changes in Serbia. I expect that after these elections Serbia will finally start fighting crime, start its development and I expect a new government to totally dedicate itself to keeping Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia," Serbian Radical Party leader Tomislav Nikolic said. The United Nations is expected to rule this year on the fate of Kosovo. The West favours granting independence to the breakaway province's majority ethnic Albanians as they have demanded since 1999, when NATO bombs drove out Serb forces accused of killing civilians while fighting an insurgency. The Radical Party has repeatly said during campaigning that it would not accept the loss of Kosovo. "Serbia must continue on the stable and secure road it has taken so far, because the safe road is the quickest," conserbative party leader and outgoing prime minister Kostunica said after casting his vote, repeating his campaign slogan that asked voters to give his government a second term. About 6.6 million Serbs are entitled to vote. Polling stations close 8 p.m. (1900 GMT) and the first projections of the result are expected before midnight. The country is still recovering from a decade of sanctions and isolation under autocrat Slobodan Milosevic, who was ousted in 2000 and died in 2006 while on trial for war crimes. The West says Serbia must now decide if it wants to reclaim its place in Europe.

ITN Source | January 21, 2007

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