The coalition of parties headlined by president Boris Tadić' Democratic party (DS), won the Serbian parliamentary election on May 11, according to the preliminary data released by the country's election body RIK, but faces difficult talks to form the new government.
The coalition, which ran under the name For a European Serbia, won 38.75 per cent, RIK said, having counted 97.8 per cent of all ballots. That would give it 102 MPs in the 250-seat assembly.
DS would have little problem co-opting the small Liberal Democrat party (LDP), which won 14 seats, despite earlier vote count results showing it was below the five per cent threshold to enter parliament, but even then it would be 10 MPs short of a majority in parliament.
The result of the pro-Western parties, however, was evenly matched by Tadić' two main rivals, the Radicals (SRS) and the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) of outgoing prime minister Vojislav Kostunica, who won 77 and 30 seats, respectively.
Kostunica shares SRS's position for closer ties with Russia and rebuffing the advances of the European Union unless the bloc treats Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia and it was disagreement with Tadić and the DS over the Kosovo issue that prompted the prime minister to resign in March and call the snap polls.
SRS leader Tomislav Nikolic said his party would seek talks with the DSS on the evening of election day, with DSS spokesman Andreja Mladenović confirming on May 12 that negotiations between the two parties have already started, as quoted by Tanjug news agency.
Either side would need the backing of the Socialist party (SPS), founded by the late Slobodan Milosevic, which emerged as the unexpected kingmaker after winning 20 seats in parliament, to form the new cabinet.
"The SPS will decide who puts together the new cabinet," analyst Slobodan Antonić said, as quoted by B92. SPS's negotiating position was "tricky, since their voters are closer to the DSS-NS coalition and the Radicals", although the party "could stand to gain more" if it joined the DS coalition.
SPS leader Ivica Dačić has said that all those seeking to form a coalition after the elections could count on the Socialists, as long as they advocated territorial integrity and social justice, B92 reported.
Tadić has already claimed victory on behalf of the pro-Western coalition, saying that it would form the next government. The coalition would "lead the country to the EU and fight to preserve Kosovo," Tadić told reporters at his party headquarters. "These are the two goals that the new government and I as president will work for."
The result was welcomed across the EU, which has made its support for Tadić clear by offering pre-membership and visa facilitation deals in the weeks before the vote. "The European Commission has received the first results of the elections, and welcomes the success of reformist forces that share European values," EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn said in a statement, quoted by B92.
The sentiment was echoed by the Slovenian presidency of the EU, with foreign minister Dimitrij Rupel telling Reuters: "Serbia's pro-European forces have won, which was our aim in the EU. It looks as if Tadić's Democrats will have a significant role, which pleases me greatly."
"The Serbian electorate has clearly shown that it is committed to Europe. The people of Serbia have chosen a prosperous future in the Western community," the US embassy in Belgrade said in a statement.
Despite opposition from the UN, voting went on in Kosovo, without any major incidents being reported, B92 said. Local residents, however, only voted in the municipal elections, but not the parliamentary ones.
"Those `local elections', their outcomes, and the Serbian municipal institutions for which they purported to elect representatives are all without legal standing or effect in Kosovo. Illegal elections cannot have legal consequences," Joachim Rücker, special envoy of the UN secretary general, said in a statement.
The coalition, which ran under the name For a European Serbia, won 38.75 per cent, RIK said, having counted 97.8 per cent of all ballots. That would give it 102 MPs in the 250-seat assembly.
DS would have little problem co-opting the small Liberal Democrat party (LDP), which won 14 seats, despite earlier vote count results showing it was below the five per cent threshold to enter parliament, but even then it would be 10 MPs short of a majority in parliament.
The result of the pro-Western parties, however, was evenly matched by Tadić' two main rivals, the Radicals (SRS) and the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) of outgoing prime minister Vojislav Kostunica, who won 77 and 30 seats, respectively.
Kostunica shares SRS's position for closer ties with Russia and rebuffing the advances of the European Union unless the bloc treats Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia and it was disagreement with Tadić and the DS over the Kosovo issue that prompted the prime minister to resign in March and call the snap polls.
SRS leader Tomislav Nikolic said his party would seek talks with the DSS on the evening of election day, with DSS spokesman Andreja Mladenović confirming on May 12 that negotiations between the two parties have already started, as quoted by Tanjug news agency.
Either side would need the backing of the Socialist party (SPS), founded by the late Slobodan Milosevic, which emerged as the unexpected kingmaker after winning 20 seats in parliament, to form the new cabinet.
"The SPS will decide who puts together the new cabinet," analyst Slobodan Antonić said, as quoted by B92. SPS's negotiating position was "tricky, since their voters are closer to the DSS-NS coalition and the Radicals", although the party "could stand to gain more" if it joined the DS coalition.
SPS leader Ivica Dačić has said that all those seeking to form a coalition after the elections could count on the Socialists, as long as they advocated territorial integrity and social justice, B92 reported.
Tadić has already claimed victory on behalf of the pro-Western coalition, saying that it would form the next government. The coalition would "lead the country to the EU and fight to preserve Kosovo," Tadić told reporters at his party headquarters. "These are the two goals that the new government and I as president will work for."
The result was welcomed across the EU, which has made its support for Tadić clear by offering pre-membership and visa facilitation deals in the weeks before the vote. "The European Commission has received the first results of the elections, and welcomes the success of reformist forces that share European values," EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn said in a statement, quoted by B92.
The sentiment was echoed by the Slovenian presidency of the EU, with foreign minister Dimitrij Rupel telling Reuters: "Serbia's pro-European forces have won, which was our aim in the EU. It looks as if Tadić's Democrats will have a significant role, which pleases me greatly."
"The Serbian electorate has clearly shown that it is committed to Europe. The people of Serbia have chosen a prosperous future in the Western community," the US embassy in Belgrade said in a statement.
Despite opposition from the UN, voting went on in Kosovo, without any major incidents being reported, B92 said. Local residents, however, only voted in the municipal elections, but not the parliamentary ones.
"Those `local elections', their outcomes, and the Serbian municipal institutions for which they purported to elect representatives are all without legal standing or effect in Kosovo. Illegal elections cannot have legal consequences," Joachim Rücker, special envoy of the UN secretary general, said in a statement.
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