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Former ultranationalists lead in Serbia election

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Published 07 May 2012
2 comments
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nationalism, Nikolic, Serbian elections, Tadic

Serbia held joint parliamentary, presidential and local elections on Sunday (6 May), sending ultranationalist Tomislav Nikolić and incumbent President Boris Tadić to a presidential election run-off on 20 May. BETA, the EurActiv partner agency in Serbia, reports.

The Progressive Party of Nikolić and the coalition led by Tadić's Democratic Party are also neck-and neck in the parliamentary election, held the same day.

According to the first official results of the Presidential poll, Nikolić won 25.47% of votes, while Tadić obtained 23.63%. The Socialist leader Ivica Dačić won 16.61%, the leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia Vojislav Koštunica 7.4%, Zoran Stanković, the current Health minister 7.36%, and Čedomir Jovanović, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party got 4.11% of votes.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary vote marked the surge of the former ultranationalist allies of Slobodan Milošević, who rode on voter anger at the country's economic stagnation. Tadić's Democrats polled 38% in the last election in 2008, but were punished this time for an economic downturn that has driven unemployment to 24%.

The Progressive Party took a pro-European stance only after its founding in 2008, when it decided to split from the nationalist Serbian Radical Party. As a result, it has yet to prove its commitment to European integration and democratic standards. The historic leader of the Radical Party Vojislav Šešelj is currently standing trial for war crimes before the Hague tribunal.

Official results on 10 May

The final results of presidential and parliamentary elections will be announced on 10 may in the evening. A 30-day deadline for talks on constituting parliament begins on the same occasion. The Electoral Commission will award mandates to candidates in the same order as were listed on their tickets.

According to preliminary results of parliamentary elections based on 7.46% of polling stations, the coalition "Let's Get Serbian Moving" headed by the Serbian Progressive Party won 24.17% of votes, followed by the coalition "A Choice for Better Serbia" headed by the Democratic Party with 21.29%.

The coalition of the Socialist Party of Serbia - the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia - the United Serbia party collected 16.65% of votes, the Democratic Party of Serbia 7.24%, the United Regions of Serbia movement 7.08%, the coalition "Turnabout" headed by the Liberal Democratic Party 4.94%, the Serbian Radical Party 4.36% and Dveri movement 3.19% of the ballot.

The third-placed Socialist Party (SPS), once led by Milošević, will most likely decide on who forms Serbia's next coalition government. It is widely tipped by analysts to pick the Democratic Party.

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COMMENTS

  • Serbian elections 2012 have confirmed two interrelated trends: that democracy has indeed become "the only game in town" (which is a precondition for a consolidated democracy), but that this is substantially a contest between old political foes. Tadic vs Nikolic presidential race for the hearts and minds of voters resembles the race which we witnessed in other European capitals, and both are leaders of pro-EU coalitions. A major difference between them is to be found in their respective positions towards the Kosovo issue, and Belgrade"s political relations with Serbs in North Kosovo who do not recognise sovereignty of institutions in Pristina. The good news is that ultranationalist parties (a term which is inconsistently referred to in the text) did not meet the required threshold for parliamentary representation.

    Another important trend which is in the background is that many voters in Belgrade refrained from casting their vote at the ballot box, hence showing their disappointment with all leading political parties and the incapacity to deal comprehensively with issues of corruption, corrosive partocracy and nepotism amongst other serious socio-economic issues and law and justice reform.

    The representation of women in politics (whilst more visible in the presidential race albeit only symbolically) did not go very far. There are still no women in the lead position of any larger political formation. The main political scene also continues to be dominated by key personalities from the 1990s with minor exceptions. May 20 presidential race is likely to offer further surprises, but space to watch is definitely behind-the-scenes bargaining currently unfolding between local and regional participants.

    By :
    Nina Markovic ANUCES
    - Posted on :
    07/05/2012

  • I appreciate your comment Nina. I can't believe any pro-EU party can be described as ultranationalist. I guess the term derives from its past and that there remains some mistrust towards it:
    "The Progressive Party took a pro-European stance only after its founding in 2008, when it decided to split from the nationalist Serbian Radical Party. As a result, it has yet to prove its commitment to European integration and democratic standards."

    BTW I'm dissapointed to have not heard anything at all about these elections in the media here in Germany. And later EU,etc is surprised by anti-enlargement feelings...Why? When all we hear about the Balkans are skirmishes between Kosovars and Serbs in the "un-ending conflict".
    Perhaps we'll hear about the May 20th elections, maybe?

    By :
    Brian
    - Posted on :
    15/05/2012

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Background: 

EU leaders agreed to give Serbia EU candidate status at their 1-2 March summit. The key factor was an improvement of the dialogue Belgrade and Pristina, capital of the breakaway state of Kosovo.

Kosovo, which is predominantly populated by ethnic Albanians, declared independence in 2008. Its independence is not recognised by Serbia and several EU states, including Spain and Romania.

Some EU countries are demanding the abolition of Serb institutions in northern Kosovo, which is inhabited by an ethnic Serb majority. This is a highly delicate political issue in Serbia.

Kosovo entered the spotlight as a condition for EU accession last summer, when a conflict broke out between Belgrade and Pristina over trade. There have been violent clashes between Serbian and Kosovar forces, with injuries on both sides and among NATO peacekeepers.

Of the former Yugoslav countries, Slovenia is an EU member and Croatia will join the Union mid-2013. Montenegro and Macedonia are official candidates but the latter has been unable to begin negotiations due to a name dispute with Greece. Bosnia and Herzegovina will reportedly officially apply for EU membership in June.

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Kosovo and Serbia: A little goodwill could go a long way
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