Serbs Voting In Ballot Amid Protests

Belgrade, Serbia (AHN) - Serbs are voting in Serbia's elections, which have been condemned by Pristina and the United Nations, according to reports.

The U.N. has termed the elections as "illegal" amid protests from the Pristina over voting, which are considered as important since the overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.

Meanwhile, pro-Western Serbian President Boris Tadic expected to win over nationalist forces even after reports indicated that the Serbian Radical Party leader Tomislav Nikolic was leading narrowly against him.

"I am totally sure that people of Serbia are going to vote for their European future, and also to contribute in terms of our capability to defend our legitimate interest in Kosovo, to defend our territorial integrity and sovereignty," Tadic told foreign reporters after voting in Belgrade, according to AFP news agency.

"These elections are going to be vitally important for my country," he added.

According to Serbia's Election Commission called RIK reported that more than 6.7 million voters are registered in the election vote more than 8,000 polling booths around the region for 250 seats in the unicameral parliament.

"The likelihood that the Radicals could come to power is very high," Fyodor Lukyanov, an analyst at the Moscow- based Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, told Bloomberg. "Serbia would find itself in isolation and in political crisis."

In a private poll released by Belgrade-based Strategic Marketing on May 6 indicated that the Radicals were ahead with 33.2 percent against 31.5 percent held by Tadic's Democratic Party.

The elections will close at 2000 (1800 GMT) and primary results based on a sample of polling stations is likely to be released two hours after the voting ends.