Tadić re-elected President of Serbia

February 3, 2008

Incumbent Boris Tadić has narrowly defeated nationalist candidate Tomislav Nikolić in the second and final round of Serbia's presidential election.

Tadić received 50.5% of the vote and Nikolić garnered about 47.9% according to CeSID, a vote monitoring organization. The voter turnout was projected to be 67.7%, the country's highest turnout since the 2000 election.

The second round of the election was a runoff that occurred nearly two weeks after the first round on January 21. None of the candidated secured a high enough vote total to be declared President. Nikolić won the first round with about 40% of the vote, while Tadić came in second with 35%.

"Serbia has shown its great democratic potential," Tadić said in a victory speech.

At his party headquarters, Nikolić conceded defeat in the race. "Tadic won, my congratulations," Nikolić said, adding, "We will be a strong opposition both to the authorities and the president."

Tadić is the leader of the Democratic Party. He holds pro-Western attitudes and supports Serbian membership into the European Union.

Nikolić, leader of the nationalist Serbian Radical Party, supported closer ties with Russia, Serbia's historical ally.

Both candidates were opposed to independence for Kosovo, although the province is expected to declare independence within the month.