Serbia holds general election amid call for EU membership
Serbians are voting in parliamentary elections in what is seen by observers as a referendum on the country’s bid for admission to the European Union.
Voters queued at polling stations on Sunday as Serbia opened its third parliamentary elections in less than four years.
Some voters showed sign of apathy, saying they have had enough of votes over the past years. They said they were voting just out of duty.
About 6.7 million people were declared eligible to vote.
Opinion polls have shown that Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic’s pro-EU Progressive Party is set to win about half of the votes while the pro-Russian far-right Radical Party, a resurgent ultra-nationalist group which wants Serbia to deepen its alliance with Russia instead of Europe, is also expected to win seats.
Vucic called the vote two years early, seeking a clear mandate to go ahead with reforms to join the EU.
He expressed hope that voters would choose a "European path”, saying he was “not going to make any compromise” with right-wing parties.
"I'm almost certain that we'll carry on our EU integration process," Vucic said.
Vojislav Seselj, who leads the Radical Party, said if elected, he will set up “a coalition with parties that renounce the European Union and favor integration with Russia.”
“Serbia will be safe only if it aligns with Moscow, which has always helped us and never bombed us,” Seselj said in a recent rally north of the country, making a reference to the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia during the Kosovo war in the 1990s.
UN judges recently acquitted Seselj of war crimes charges arising from the Balkan conflicts.
Polling stations were due to close at 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) while first results were expected before midnight.
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