US welcomes Tadic victory
Washington says it will help Serbia on its journey towards UN membership.
“We congratulate him and the Democratic Party of Serbia on his victory following a vigorous campaign,” he said on Monday, adding that the unusually high voter turnout was “remarkable”.
“This election had important implications for Serbia‘s future. President Tadic promised voters a European future for Serbia.”
Tadic has called for closer ties with the EU while Nikolic advocated turning to Russia instead of the West, which backs Kosovo’s majority Albanians in their quest for independence.
“We want to go to Europe. We want to co-operate with the world,” Tadic said at a victory rally.
“This is Serbia’s victory. I think we have proven both to Europe and everywhere else in the world what kind of democracy we have in Serbia.”
Supporters celebrate
| In focus |
|
|
Al Jazeera’s Barnaby Phillips in Belgrade said that the mood among Tadic’s supporters was one of relief.
“Their man sneaked home but the size of the opposition vote shows that many Serbs are unhappy with the way their country is being led,” he said.
“Tadic won, my congratulations,” Nikolic told his supporters. “I would like to call on everyone to stay calm.”
“We will be a strong opposition both to the authorities and the president,” he told his Radical Party supporters.
Kosovo independence
The issue of Kosovo had weighed heavily in the elections, although both men had opposed ethnic Albanians’ independence drive.
In his victory speech, Tadic restated his commitment to Serbs living in majority ethnic Albanian Kosovo.
| “We give support today to our fellow people in Kosovo and show them that we will never let them down” Boris Tadic, Serbia’s president |
“We give support today to our fellow people in Kosovo and show them that we will never let them down,” he said.
Kostunica wants a harder response to Kosovo independence, including diplomatic sanctions against the West, repudiation of the EU and measures to strangle the province economically.