RIK: Pro-EU coalition wins 102 seats

DS have not won the elections as claimed by them -

They are simply the largest component of a pre-poll coalition that has secured the maximum number of votes...
The SRS is the single largest party.
A post-poll alliance may still come up including DSS/SRS/Socialists/others that can easily claim to form the Govt.

The choices are clear -
Back to the polls...
Forward to becoming a EU stooge/compromising Kosovo...

OR
Forming an alliance that will guide Serbia towards Unity and territorial integrity...

DSS/SRS/Socialists have to think of Serbia and the future, before thinking about narrow party politics.

Kosovo is Serbia.
Serbia is Kosovo.

Till RIK provides the final and 'actual' count (as opposed to a 'sample' mathimatical guesstimate) much remains to be determineed and no one party can seriously celebrate a win - sure doing well but not a win - no one party was ever likely to do that and lets not forget the wining list is 5 seperate parties so SRS are still the largest one party in Serbia.

Once the counts are fully received then all that matters is coalition, coalition, coalition or election, election, election!!!

If some still beleive in speculating on partial counts then here is the account from RIK thus far and based on LDP not qualify the 5% the only 2 scenarios see either a SRS-DS-NS-SPS-PUPS-JS (6 party coalition) or DS-G17-LSV-SPO-SDP-SPS-PUPS-JS (8 party coalition) for a majority government.

That said I think everyone knows which is the most likely coalition formation for government - even Tadic despite his choice to count his chickens before they are hatched! Tadic is not unlike Rupel in counting his chickens given he already blurted;
"The pro-European side in Serbia won, which was what we were aiming for in the European Union," he said. "It seems that Tadic's Democrats will have a more important role, which makes me very happy."
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL1129613320080511?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

Oh dear Rupel dont you know what free, fair and independent democracy means in a sovereign state? Or is this your US hegemonic speech all gone arwy with democracy means you pick the guy we want you to pick and thats all that democracy means?

Lets wait till the dust settles and the fat lady sings!

One of the tactics of the American “Coloured Revolutions” is for their candidate to declare an election victory regardless of the result. The DOS regime did this during the putsch that overthrew President Milosevic. DOS rejected the result of the polls, stormed Parliament and burned the ballot papers so that no one could count them. (The smoke coming from the Serbian Parliament windows was burning ballot papers, something never mentioned in the Western free press.)

Tadic is now using similar tactics. He has declared victory when he has clearly won nothing. The biggest party in the next government will once again be the SRS not Tadic’s DS. The most likely future coalition will bring the SRS and not the DS to power. Where then the victory?

I notice also that B92 is telling us that the DS have “won” Vojvodina and Belgrade, and that some in the EU are already congratulating the DS on their “Victory.”

Are we set for another “democratic” Putsch?

With votes counted from 33.91 percent of polling stations, the SRS received 28.57 percent of the vote translating into 80 seats, the DSS-NS received 13.54 percent of the vote or 37 seats, and the SPS-PUPS-JS coalition won 9.14 percent of the vote, giving them 25 seats in parliament.
--
This is leading to a spectacular defeat of the DS coalition. Those celebrations last night will be short lived when the SRS/DSS/NS/SPS form a coalition controlling what looks to be about 142 seats.

Wow, I am very impressed that Serbia is standing tall and proud. The DS is history and that was clear the very moment it signed this dud SAA deal. Once the people realise all these lies about self isolation and all this scaremongering, the new government will go from strength to strength and I expect the DS to be in opposition for a very long time.

The message seems clear, the Serbian people are sick of lies and empty promises. It is quite amusing to see all these DS supporters celebrating something that is not going to happen. Just like signing the worthless SAA.

Serbia, keep moving forward!

Contrary to what b92 and many posters have said, DS did not "win" the election. If they had "won" they would now be about to enter government and considering the make-up of the cabinet.
But once again the Serbian electorate has thrown up a number of possibilities which are clear to everyone. It's all to play for now with the six or seven main parties all in there with a say. And when it's all done and dusted and a new government is formed, the parties who coalesce will be the ones who have "won".

The people have spoken now all those radical commentators on this site can bite their tongue. Long live EU Serbia !

It seems that the more votes get counted, the worse the DS and the rest of Solana's boys are doing in the polls.
Cedo Jovanovic's LDP party is now below 5% and falling! Excellent news indeed. The DS is down from 103 seats to 102, and falling. DSS is up from 30 seats to 37, and the SRS is up from 77 to 80 seats!
I am very proud of the Serbian people today. Despite all the tricks, threats and bribery from Solana's boys, gross outside interference into this election, the Serbian people have spoken and clearly said NO to the SAA scam, NO to giving away an inch of Kosovo, NO to that abomination which has nothing to do with truth and justice - the Hague. They have said YES to parties which support Serbia as a WHOLE entering the EU, with no strings attached (DSS, SRS, and SPS).
Serbia, you have once again shown the world that you are not a nation of bootlickers, servants, and second class citizens. You are a nation that puts pride, truth, and honour above all else. You are a nation of free and independent people.
Cheers!

am I missing something here or what???? Why is Tadic and the EU celebrating???? I mean, doesn't SRS+DSS+SP give you a majority of 127?

No matter what Tadic does, short of grovelling before the SP and letting a pro-Milosevic become prime minister, I don't see how he can get to th magic number 126. Or maybe he might just grovel after all. We will see.

milosevic the best friend albanians ever had is dead, but albanians must again look to his party for rescue :)
its really as simple as that. if sps gives tadic a government, tadic will go on to recognize kosovo in little steps, and the problem is solved. especially eulex problem which is now huge for the eu.
on the other hand of course we will never become a member. of course the eu don’t care if we live or die any more than we do if they live or die. serbia and the eu will never meet, i'm sure of this. i was sure of this even when i hoped it might happen. now the eu just want their kosovo abomination not to explode bloody in their faces and for this they must have solana boys in power.
personally unlike when i voted tadic in february i now have a clear conscience, whatever happens. i voted dss, a normal, moderate, pro-serbia party.
i hope they can make a deal with srs and sps, but i would'nt underestimate the sps' ability to harm serbian national interests, just look at the past. and then what happens, its really anybody's guess.
it's good to remember though turks, nazis, communists at this moment of our grave and deep national crisis, to remember how our broken spine always healed. we're like that as a nation :) the results clearly show how that at least half us are resisting. and more will come round as soon as: no one can arrest mladic, no one can ratify saa, no one can turn worthless memorandums into real contracts, and a million other silly lies are exposed for the hot air they are.

The first round is over and there's little to be done but wait for the final results. Then there will be the second and the decisive round to show the Champion.

Right now we can only speculate. I personally don't think that the choice was EITHER EU OR RUSSIA because most of those who voted for Tadic also feel much more sympathy for Russia but not for the EU. It's hard to avoid the EU trend living in the heart of Europe. So the rest of the Serbs also don't mind the integration.

So the real choice to my mind was EU AT ANY PRICE OR NOT. Evidently those who said NOT AT ANY PRICE have the upper hand. Congratulations ! Let Tadic and his supporters amuse people around with their "victory" celebtrating before the cold shower they cannot avoid starts.

Congratulations Boris Tadic!

I think this is indeed the best choice for Serbia as it represents the attitude of the majority of younger Serbs:

Looking forward to a bright, prosperous future, but nonetheless staying loyal to their culture and heritage by not giving up on Kosovo.

I am happy for the Serbian choice, because had that Jovanovic won, it would have shown that Serbia would be prepared to sell their own mothers just to join the EU club thinking they have caught God's feet, or had Nikolic won, we would have a second Belarus in Europe that thinks that Russia is the beacon of civilization and the future.

To conclude, this vote shows that Serbs are looking forward to the future while not forgetting their past, and this is encouraging to see.

Peter,

"majority of younger Serbs"

- not sure about Polish politics but the electorate in Serbia do not centre on the demographics of the 18-24 years alone!!!

It's just as important that we accept the democratic voice of all demographics - a vote by an 18 year old is just as important as that of a 90 year old and their needs are just as valid in a state that values each and every citisen equally even if each group has differing needs !!!

Lets just be clear the List that has the largest share is in fact 5 different parties and it looks like SR still are the largest single party!

What is good about the recent elections is the rationalisation of the endless number of individual parties - looks like serbia's democracy is maturing well and has made a big step away from the multiple party confusion associated with many EU states such as Belguim and Holland. Once the full results are known then I am quite certain that a coalition will be rapidly formed.

Why can't the SRS face the fact that DS won?
SRS will ruin the future of Serbia if they win. Serbs want Kosovo but i doubt they're willing to give up a good economy for it. Just think about it:
Better Education or Kosovo?
better pay or Kosovo?
better visas or Kosovo?
job availability or kosovo?

it's self-explanitory

And by the way kosovo is already recognised by 40 countries! i think it's too late for them not to recognise them. All serbia has to do is not recognise KS which DS already said they won't...

Think people! Don't be selfish!

Princip and ZK,

I'm so glad you doubted CeSID's figures.

Well RIK has now counted most of the votes and guess what, CESID was almost completely right (one too few for LDP - one too many for DS). Thankfully LDP makes the SRS-DSS-SPS possibility almost unworkable due to the tiny majority (and I'm not fully sure SPS would consent anyway).

SRS must be absolutely forlorn - they thought they would beat ZES, and they are 10% off their 1st round presidential figure, whereas DS-G17 (who were linked for the presidential election) are up a bit over 3%.

DSS are of course the massive losers - down 5% from the last parliament. In any other political system a leader who sheds a third of his party's voters would be ditched. We can only hope Serbia is maturing and does the same.

'DS have not won the elections as claimed by them -

They are simply the largest component of a pre-poll coalition that has secured the maximum number of votes...'

Congratulations, vencor for the funniest comment so far today. It reminds of me of NATO when the spoke about 'collateral damage' rather than admit to killing civilians.

And yeah it is fun to watch people wishing rather than looking at the facts. We all know which coalition got the most votes and yet some of us are still desperate in wanting to believe that SRS won.
This is the second defeat that SRS have suffered in the last few months. The first as we know was Nikolic's defeat as presidential candidate. This defeat was even bigger. If the DS coalition forms a government it will be game, set and match. No more fantasies about impeaching the president, no more manipulation of the Kosovo issue for political gain, no more 'Solana's' agreement etc etc. The Serbian people saw through this manipulation.

hans christian you should've spoken sooner. shift key aint no friend of mine on these tiny notebook keyboards now let me tell you.
of course i'll do what you suggest, i enjoy your comments and think they are really intelligent and make a lot of sense not to mention the sense of humour. plus there's this certain.. je ne sais quoi, sounds like you know what you're talking about a lot of the time.
now, but you must understand, i'm your average serbian joe. i can barely speak and spell my native serbian, and its as beautiful a language as you can find, let alone foreign tongues. you know how we serbs be :))
there's another thing. i watched that javier dulic fella on rts this evening, and zarko obradovic from sps, yes, yes, you'll start learning all these names soon :). boy oh boy did it not look like there was ds/sps coalition in the making. the solana fella actually attacked him because of the policy in the 90s which strikes me as particularly dumb unless you know its not happening so then, at least lets attack sps, and the sps fella went on about bombing, sanctions kosovo snatching and other such eu us beauties. also now there's rumours that west is pressuring tadic and other boys to form government BY JUNE 15, while there's another rumour and that is that THE BEAR has gotten involved and is pressuring sps not to even think about giving tadic what he wants.
er, as we all know, the bear has a certain amount of leverage over sps :) or at least i hope we all know.
and one more thing. imagine please a government of ds/lsv/spo/sdp/g17 and sps/pups/js and, minorities, which means i have no idea how many hungarian parties in the hunagarian coalition but i'm thinking at least 3, and then 2 a piece for the muslim and albanian coalitions... this comes to 15 parties at least!!
that no way to form a stable government. that ends in tears so to speak.

rolerkoster,
I don't see your logic. Roger Federer wins Wimbledon in straight sets. The next year he wins again, but is forced to win in five setMJWR5Us. Would you then say that Federer was the looser, since he had lost ground since the previous championship? Is he not still the winner?

There were two clear choices in this election:

"EU! (and Kosovo)"

and

"EU - not without Kosovo".

Since SRS, DSS and SPS were very clear about the last choice, and since they won 127 seats, clearly this is the will of the people. It does not matter that DS did better than expected.

Its so easy for all the serbs living in the UK or canada etc to talk tough and support the radicals , you have your visas and good wages ! think about your country men back home , they deserve a chance as well
(lee coleman , london UK ., 12 May 2008 20:53)
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Lee, those Serbs in the UK, Australia, Canada, etc can say what they want but it is the citizens in Serbia doing the voting and it is their choice to choose who they want - And that is exactly what they have done, regardless of what the Serbians in the west have said.

The choice of Serbia's citizens is clear - No more EU deceit and the DS in opposition.

it was supposed to be a definitive choice between EU and Russia and...
I see the turnout ..about 60%..very low indeed..So can someone explain to a stranger like me why 40 % of the Serbs haven't felt this "epic battle " ?

Come on Tom. Let's not play with semantic points. If the same results were in Ireland and Fianna Fail had beaten Fine Gael by 10 points, I'm sure Fianna Fail would be claiming victory (even if not a great one).

The previous General Election in Serbia was held in January 2007. The voter turnout then was almost the same as in the elections held yesterday (60.4% in 2007, 60.7% in 2008).

The Serbian Radical Party won a few more votes in yesterday's election (28.59% in 2007, 29.22% in 2008).

Cedo Jovanovic’s Liberal Party maintained its vote, as did the Socialists together with their allies.

The real losers were DSS/NS. Their vote fell by over 5% in yesterday’s election (16.55% in 2007, 11.34% in 2008).

The Democratic Party (allied with G17 and SPO) were the beneficiaries of the DSS/NS decline. Their vote was up by almost 6% (32.83% in 2007, 38.75% in 2008).

The “For a European Serbia” list will have 102 seats in the new parliament, the SRS 77, and the DSS-NS 30, RIK has announced, with 97.84 percent of votes counted.

Coalition “For a European Serbia” 102 + 13 (LDP) = 115
Coalition “Against European Serbia” 77(SRS) + 30(DSS-NS) + 20(SPS) = 127

Who won? Certainly anti-Europeans because the fundamentals of the Serbian nation is against freedom and democracy. Unfortunately.
My prediction came true. Now regardless the government composition and “behind the closed doors” schemes, one thing is clear – Serbians are not ready for Europe, their colonialism mentality is far stronger then freedom-loving ideology.

when 19-24 year olds realise sic) that general eisenhauer (USA) defeated the nazi's and freed (WWII) europe- and that the russians were the enemy) i'm sad to say they won't understand who is still destabilising Serbia (among other countries). lucky for the 19-24 year old that the oldies may still save them from falling over.
if you understand what I have written, then you should understand that democratic Russia (no longer soviet commo's) is still being underestimated and the EU (&USA) is still selling "the cat in the bag (AMWAY) membership".
No one is excellent, but one is quiet and confident, and one is loud and pushy.
what type of salesperson do you prefer ?
promise you can be a millionare, or
promise to tough it out together?

Ironically, it's the SPS that's Kingmaker now. I have no doubt Tadic is either going to go after the entire SPS coalition, or chip away at one of its smaller partners.

If we assume a DS+LDP+minorities coalition, they're short three seats of a majority. Putting the SPS coalition, or one of the smaller parties, such as JS on the ticket means a majority.

Tadic will probably do this before he takes a deep breath and phones Vojo.

I was surprised that DS won 39% of the votes. Although I was little disapointed with LDP getting only 5.75%.

I personally don't care who forms the new government of Serbia, however from my interests I hope the SRS-DSS- and SPS form the new government and isolate Serbia for another 4 years!

After that the 40% that did not vote will wake up the next election and decide how they want to live their lives.

Peace.

What a devastating defeat for DSS-NS. They lost over 200,000 voters since the January 2007 elections. All other major parties gained votes. I can't think of a more dramatic rejection of Kostunica's autistic policies than this outcome.

first of all: I am astonished about how many "experts" are writing here...

if they were all so smart, the kosovo-albanian community should have been the wealthiest in the whole balkans-area 40 years ago...

it´s quite clear kids: 102 vs. 127, it only depends on how the coalitions will be formed...

as a sidenote:
Maks, you should not teach others about the english-language, since you obviously do not have a clue.

is anglo-american, indeed. you seem to mix up english history with todays language... just as you are mixing up your illyrian illusions with your reality...

you have as much in common with the illyrians as the Serbs have in common with the Aztec-culture...

but that´s nothing new in regard to albanian history-knowledge... we are used to it, but please: do not give language-lessons here...it only causes a smile, not more.

Is this supposed to be the unity that the Serbs show in defense of Kosovo? I think the voters have spoken clearly... Ditch that Kostunica who declares everybody a traitor. Ditch the Radicals who have big mouths, but no guts to assume any responsibility. It does not matter who forms the government. If Kostunica forms the government, he will be more submissive to EU than Tadic because EU can bring his government down at any time. Tadic is at least the declared darling of the EU and they cannot ditch him that easy.

Maks,

You are right. The Serbs are not ready yet for Europe. There s/b a clear 55-60% majority for the EU. Let's wait an other cycle of 4 years. In the mean time let them explore the "advantages" of a so-called transit dream position between East and West.

Most of the people who come for voting did that again and again to try help- themselves to survive. It's a shame that the history was going in that disastrous way for former decent country and 20 million people... So, please do not try to prolong the agony and instigate the hate in this region and against the people... Long life EU Serbia!

This is of-topic but since you Albanians love everything anglo-american isn´t changing your names to "John" "Maks" "Bob" "George" and g-d knows what a little too much?

And Jan Denmark, please explain your Danish somewhat bizarre Serbophobia will you? I mean shouldn´t you join Flemmning Rose chanting AGAINST muslims?

Maybe there is something we can do to help you, im sure.

Dear People,

You are all on drugs (and I must be too).

Speaking from a point of clarity:

1: There is no clear and substantive mandate one way or another.

2: Serbia remains divided.

3: Nothing new. Is the pope catholic?

Well, to those not happy about outcome and wanting to go back to voting, that's too late because voting just ended. Now it is time for politics. If politics goes on and coalitions are formed, then tough luck. Wait 4-5 years to the next vote and see at that time how it goes. After all this is the law. If you want to go around the law with big, strong, manly plans then look to the past. It should provide enough entertainment. If after 4-5 years you again don't like the outcome of the vote, then I pity you. Because you'll have to wait again. And so on. It would just be simpler to accept realities and be happy. Oterwise you'll keep waiting.

if one takes the facts only, the will of the voters is quite clear: the list ZES gained votes and is nearly 10% ahead to the next list, SRS has lost votes significantly and DSS nearly lost a third of votes. LDP and SPS are confirmed, but on moderate levels.

in fact, the next government of Serbia could be formed by the two parties which had lost significantly the confidence of voters. but this does not allow anyones conclusion then, they might have been winners, because such a government just would be a coalition of the election losers. did Serbia really vote for this?

'The choice of Serbia's citizens is clear - No more EU deceit and the DS in opposition.'

Yeah thats right - the fact that most Serbian citizens voted for the DS coalition clearly is a vote against Europe and a vote for DS coalition to be in opposition...

After all this careless talk of yours, how silly are you going to look if / when DS leads the government, has a president only just starting his term and speeds ahead with EU integration?

Luigi,
those may be the 2mil Albanians from Kosovo.

ZK UK: "Wow, I am very impressed that Serbia is standing tall and proud. The DS is history."

I won't say that political situation is cleared now but one thing we can observe: Radicals lost seats.

Kostunica and DSS better think twice which course to take into future!

It is a mess :)

I have no idea what the end result will be, but I doubt it will be a strong and long-lived coalition government. If it does not break on the Kosovo issue, it will break on economic issues.

What I would like to see now, is a break down of of the votes, showing where each party did well, and where they did bad. Where did the votes in the major cities go? Where did the people living in rural areas put their votes? Any interesting patterns in age, income, ethnicity?

On 12 May 2008 11:48, luigi wrote:

"I see the turnout ..about 60%..very low indeed..So can someone explain to a stranger like me why 40 % of the Serbs haven't felt this "epic battle "?"

luigi - I am just an armchair expert, but from what I hear in the Danish radio, the analysis is, that many of the young generation are feed up with the old generation of politicians. And as a consequence, they have not voted at all.

This is of-topic but since you Albanians love everything anglo-american isn´t changing your names to "John" "Maks" "Bob" "George" and g-d knows what a little too much?

And Jan Denmark, please explain your Danish somewhat bizarre Serbophobia will you? I mean shouldn´t you join Flemmning Rose chanting AGAINST muslims?

Maybe there is something we can do to help you, im sure.
(Corfitz Ulfeldt, 12 May 2008 18:58)
Maks is not anglo-american (by the way is called Anglo-Saxon language). Max would be the one. However this is my name and i didn't change the spelling. If you have any doubt about Albanian names, google it and you will have a full list of them. They are beautiful names. Most of then are from Illyrian time and some of them are from Albanian meaning. I can emphesize the few "borrowed" names are not authentic albanian but from ottoman occupation each are very rare used. What about your name my friend? Why are you using your own name? Are you ashamed?

Its so easy for all the serbs living in the UK or canada etc to talk tough and support the radicals , you have your visas and good wages ! think about your country men back home , they deserve a chance as well

"EU - not without Kosovo".

Since SRS, DSS and SPS were very clear about the last choice, and since they won 127 seats, clearly this is the will of the people. It does not matter that DS did better than expected. (wassberg, 12 May 2008 16:35)

as you explain this to me, okay then: Federer was second in 2007 and he was not any better in 2008.

your counting is 100% correct, although: if you sum up their votes the same correct way, you gonna find out, how many votes they have lost.

anyway: ZASTAVA coalition is mathematically possible and maybe Serbia will get such a government :)

@smile - If you want me to read your posts, please use proper capitalisation of both names and when you begin a new sentence.

A blank line before each paragraph would also help immensely.

PS: If you use Firefox, PLEASE install the English language dictionary plug-in. It will automatically mark all misspelled word as you type, and a simple right-click on the word will allow you to select the correct spelling.

Jovan, serbians are the decendents of illyrians, just stay calm. Everyone dealing with histroy in civilized countries knows this, that's why the international community is helping Kosovars to be indipendent. It would be a shame for illyrians such as you are to stay in a common state with Kosovars.
Anyway, enjoy the radicals coalition, hopefully.
The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -it is the illusion of knowledge

@ Luigi: 60% is almost double than 34% albanians, shiptari, that voted last year in Kosovo. I dont know what you want to say.

Funny to see that you didn't write anything about the missing 66% of albanians voters, but course you have to do it now for Serbians

The “For a European Serbia” list will have 102 seats in the new parliament, the SRS 77, and the DSS-NS 30, RIK has announced, with 97.84 percent of votes counted.

Coalition “For a European Serbia” 102 + 13 (LDP) = 115
Coalition “Against European Serbia” 77(SRS) + 30(DSS-NS) + 20(SPS) = 127

Who won? Certainly anti-Europeans because the fundamentals of the Serbian nation is against freedom and democracy. Unfortunately.
My prediction came true. Now regardless the government composition and “behind the closed doors” schemes, one thing is clear – Serbians are not ready for Europe, their colonialism mentality is far stronger then freedom-loving ideology.

The people have spoken now all those radical commentators on this site can bite their tongue. Long live EU Serbia !

Princip and ZK,

I'm so glad you doubted CeSID's figures.

Well RIK has now counted most of the votes and guess what, CESID was almost completely right (one too few for LDP - one too many for DS). Thankfully LDP makes the SRS-DSS-SPS possibility almost unworkable due to the tiny majority (and I'm not fully sure SPS would consent anyway).

SRS must be absolutely forlorn - they thought they would beat ZES, and they are 10% off their 1st round presidential figure, whereas DS-G17 (who were linked for the presidential election) are up a bit over 3%.

DSS are of course the massive losers - down 5% from the last parliament. In any other political system a leader who sheds a third of his party's voters would be ditched. We can only hope Serbia is maturing and does the same.

I was surprised that DS won 39% of the votes. Although I was little disapointed with LDP getting only 5.75%.

I personally don't care who forms the new government of Serbia, however from my interests I hope the SRS-DSS- and SPS form the new government and isolate Serbia for another 4 years!

After that the 40% that did not vote will wake up the next election and decide how they want to live their lives.

Peace.

if one takes the facts only, the will of the voters is quite clear: the list ZES gained votes and is nearly 10% ahead to the next list, SRS has lost votes significantly and DSS nearly lost a third of votes. LDP and SPS are confirmed, but on moderate levels.

in fact, the next government of Serbia could be formed by the two parties which had lost significantly the confidence of voters. but this does not allow anyones conclusion then, they might have been winners, because such a government just would be a coalition of the election losers. did Serbia really vote for this?

Maks,

You are right. The Serbs are not ready yet for Europe. There s/b a clear 55-60% majority for the EU. Let's wait an other cycle of 4 years. In the mean time let them explore the "advantages" of a so-called transit dream position between East and West.

Congratulations Boris Tadic!

I think this is indeed the best choice for Serbia as it represents the attitude of the majority of younger Serbs:

Looking forward to a bright, prosperous future, but nonetheless staying loyal to their culture and heritage by not giving up on Kosovo.

I am happy for the Serbian choice, because had that Jovanovic won, it would have shown that Serbia would be prepared to sell their own mothers just to join the EU club thinking they have caught God's feet, or had Nikolic won, we would have a second Belarus in Europe that thinks that Russia is the beacon of civilization and the future.

To conclude, this vote shows that Serbs are looking forward to the future while not forgetting their past, and this is encouraging to see.

What a devastating defeat for DSS-NS. They lost over 200,000 voters since the January 2007 elections. All other major parties gained votes. I can't think of a more dramatic rejection of Kostunica's autistic policies than this outcome.

'DS have not won the elections as claimed by them -

They are simply the largest component of a pre-poll coalition that has secured the maximum number of votes...'

Congratulations, vencor for the funniest comment so far today. It reminds of me of NATO when the spoke about 'collateral damage' rather than admit to killing civilians.

And yeah it is fun to watch people wishing rather than looking at the facts. We all know which coalition got the most votes and yet some of us are still desperate in wanting to believe that SRS won.
This is the second defeat that SRS have suffered in the last few months. The first as we know was Nikolic's defeat as presidential candidate. This defeat was even bigger. If the DS coalition forms a government it will be game, set and match. No more fantasies about impeaching the president, no more manipulation of the Kosovo issue for political gain, no more 'Solana's' agreement etc etc. The Serbian people saw through this manipulation.

Is this supposed to be the unity that the Serbs show in defense of Kosovo? I think the voters have spoken clearly... Ditch that Kostunica who declares everybody a traitor. Ditch the Radicals who have big mouths, but no guts to assume any responsibility. It does not matter who forms the government. If Kostunica forms the government, he will be more submissive to EU than Tadic because EU can bring his government down at any time. Tadic is at least the declared darling of the EU and they cannot ditch him that easy.

ZK UK: "Wow, I am very impressed that Serbia is standing tall and proud. The DS is history."

I won't say that political situation is cleared now but one thing we can observe: Radicals lost seats.

Kostunica and DSS better think twice which course to take into future!

DS have not won the elections as claimed by them -

They are simply the largest component of a pre-poll coalition that has secured the maximum number of votes...
The SRS is the single largest party.
A post-poll alliance may still come up including DSS/SRS/Socialists/others that can easily claim to form the Govt.

The choices are clear -
Back to the polls...
Forward to becoming a EU stooge/compromising Kosovo...

OR
Forming an alliance that will guide Serbia towards Unity and territorial integrity...

DSS/SRS/Socialists have to think of Serbia and the future, before thinking about narrow party politics.

Kosovo is Serbia.
Serbia is Kosovo.

it was supposed to be a definitive choice between EU and Russia and...
I see the turnout ..about 60%..very low indeed..So can someone explain to a stranger like me why 40 % of the Serbs haven't felt this "epic battle " ?

With votes counted from 33.91 percent of polling stations, the SRS received 28.57 percent of the vote translating into 80 seats, the DSS-NS received 13.54 percent of the vote or 37 seats, and the SPS-PUPS-JS coalition won 9.14 percent of the vote, giving them 25 seats in parliament.
--
This is leading to a spectacular defeat of the DS coalition. Those celebrations last night will be short lived when the SRS/DSS/NS/SPS form a coalition controlling what looks to be about 142 seats.

Wow, I am very impressed that Serbia is standing tall and proud. The DS is history and that was clear the very moment it signed this dud SAA deal. Once the people realise all these lies about self isolation and all this scaremongering, the new government will go from strength to strength and I expect the DS to be in opposition for a very long time.

The message seems clear, the Serbian people are sick of lies and empty promises. It is quite amusing to see all these DS supporters celebrating something that is not going to happen. Just like signing the worthless SAA.

Serbia, keep moving forward!

Why can't the SRS face the fact that DS won?
SRS will ruin the future of Serbia if they win. Serbs want Kosovo but i doubt they're willing to give up a good economy for it. Just think about it:
Better Education or Kosovo?
better pay or Kosovo?
better visas or Kosovo?
job availability or kosovo?

it's self-explanitory

And by the way kosovo is already recognised by 40 countries! i think it's too late for them not to recognise them. All serbia has to do is not recognise KS which DS already said they won't...

Think people! Don't be selfish!

Luigi,
those may be the 2mil Albanians from Kosovo.

Well, to those not happy about outcome and wanting to go back to voting, that's too late because voting just ended. Now it is time for politics. If politics goes on and coalitions are formed, then tough luck. Wait 4-5 years to the next vote and see at that time how it goes. After all this is the law. If you want to go around the law with big, strong, manly plans then look to the past. It should provide enough entertainment. If after 4-5 years you again don't like the outcome of the vote, then I pity you. Because you'll have to wait again. And so on. It would just be simpler to accept realities and be happy. Oterwise you'll keep waiting.

It seems that the more votes get counted, the worse the DS and the rest of Solana's boys are doing in the polls.
Cedo Jovanovic's LDP party is now below 5% and falling! Excellent news indeed. The DS is down from 103 seats to 102, and falling. DSS is up from 30 seats to 37, and the SRS is up from 77 to 80 seats!
I am very proud of the Serbian people today. Despite all the tricks, threats and bribery from Solana's boys, gross outside interference into this election, the Serbian people have spoken and clearly said NO to the SAA scam, NO to giving away an inch of Kosovo, NO to that abomination which has nothing to do with truth and justice - the Hague. They have said YES to parties which support Serbia as a WHOLE entering the EU, with no strings attached (DSS, SRS, and SPS).
Serbia, you have once again shown the world that you are not a nation of bootlickers, servants, and second class citizens. You are a nation that puts pride, truth, and honour above all else. You are a nation of free and independent people.
Cheers!

when 19-24 year olds realise sic) that general eisenhauer (USA) defeated the nazi's and freed (WWII) europe- and that the russians were the enemy) i'm sad to say they won't understand who is still destabilising Serbia (among other countries). lucky for the 19-24 year old that the oldies may still save them from falling over.
if you understand what I have written, then you should understand that democratic Russia (no longer soviet commo's) is still being underestimated and the EU (&USA) is still selling "the cat in the bag (AMWAY) membership".
No one is excellent, but one is quiet and confident, and one is loud and pushy.
what type of salesperson do you prefer ?
promise you can be a millionare, or
promise to tough it out together?

One of the tactics of the American “Coloured Revolutions” is for their candidate to declare an election victory regardless of the result. The DOS regime did this during the putsch that overthrew President Milosevic. DOS rejected the result of the polls, stormed Parliament and burned the ballot papers so that no one could count them. (The smoke coming from the Serbian Parliament windows was burning ballot papers, something never mentioned in the Western free press.)

Tadic is now using similar tactics. He has declared victory when he has clearly won nothing. The biggest party in the next government will once again be the SRS not Tadic’s DS. The most likely future coalition will bring the SRS and not the DS to power. Where then the victory?

I notice also that B92 is telling us that the DS have “won” Vojvodina and Belgrade, and that some in the EU are already congratulating the DS on their “Victory.”

Are we set for another “democratic” Putsch?

Come on Tom. Let's not play with semantic points. If the same results were in Ireland and Fianna Fail had beaten Fine Gael by 10 points, I'm sure Fianna Fail would be claiming victory (even if not a great one).

Most of the people who come for voting did that again and again to try help- themselves to survive. It's a shame that the history was going in that disastrous way for former decent country and 20 million people... So, please do not try to prolong the agony and instigate the hate in this region and against the people... Long life EU Serbia!

"EU - not without Kosovo".

Since SRS, DSS and SPS were very clear about the last choice, and since they won 127 seats, clearly this is the will of the people. It does not matter that DS did better than expected. (wassberg, 12 May 2008 16:35)

as you explain this to me, okay then: Federer was second in 2007 and he was not any better in 2008.

your counting is 100% correct, although: if you sum up their votes the same correct way, you gonna find out, how many votes they have lost.

anyway: ZASTAVA coalition is mathematically possible and maybe Serbia will get such a government :)

Till RIK provides the final and 'actual' count (as opposed to a 'sample' mathimatical guesstimate) much remains to be determineed and no one party can seriously celebrate a win - sure doing well but not a win - no one party was ever likely to do that and lets not forget the wining list is 5 seperate parties so SRS are still the largest one party in Serbia.

Once the counts are fully received then all that matters is coalition, coalition, coalition or election, election, election!!!

If some still beleive in speculating on partial counts then here is the account from RIK thus far and based on LDP not qualify the 5% the only 2 scenarios see either a SRS-DS-NS-SPS-PUPS-JS (6 party coalition) or DS-G17-LSV-SPO-SDP-SPS-PUPS-JS (8 party coalition) for a majority government.

That said I think everyone knows which is the most likely coalition formation for government - even Tadic despite his choice to count his chickens before they are hatched! Tadic is not unlike Rupel in counting his chickens given he already blurted;
"The pro-European side in Serbia won, which was what we were aiming for in the European Union," he said. "It seems that Tadic's Democrats will have a more important role, which makes me very happy."
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL1129613320080511?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

Oh dear Rupel dont you know what free, fair and independent democracy means in a sovereign state? Or is this your US hegemonic speech all gone arwy with democracy means you pick the guy we want you to pick and thats all that democracy means?

Lets wait till the dust settles and the fat lady sings!

Peter,

"majority of younger Serbs"

- not sure about Polish politics but the electorate in Serbia do not centre on the demographics of the 18-24 years alone!!!

It's just as important that we accept the democratic voice of all demographics - a vote by an 18 year old is just as important as that of a 90 year old and their needs are just as valid in a state that values each and every citisen equally even if each group has differing needs !!!

Lets just be clear the List that has the largest share is in fact 5 different parties and it looks like SR still are the largest single party!

What is good about the recent elections is the rationalisation of the endless number of individual parties - looks like serbia's democracy is maturing well and has made a big step away from the multiple party confusion associated with many EU states such as Belguim and Holland. Once the full results are known then I am quite certain that a coalition will be rapidly formed.

On 12 May 2008 11:48, luigi wrote:

"I see the turnout ..about 60%..very low indeed..So can someone explain to a stranger like me why 40 % of the Serbs haven't felt this "epic battle "?"

luigi - I am just an armchair expert, but from what I hear in the Danish radio, the analysis is, that many of the young generation are feed up with the old generation of politicians. And as a consequence, they have not voted at all.

This is of-topic but since you Albanians love everything anglo-american isn´t changing your names to "John" "Maks" "Bob" "George" and g-d knows what a little too much?

And Jan Denmark, please explain your Danish somewhat bizarre Serbophobia will you? I mean shouldn´t you join Flemmning Rose chanting AGAINST muslims?

Maybe there is something we can do to help you, im sure.
(Corfitz Ulfeldt, 12 May 2008 18:58)
Maks is not anglo-american (by the way is called Anglo-Saxon language). Max would be the one. However this is my name and i didn't change the spelling. If you have any doubt about Albanian names, google it and you will have a full list of them. They are beautiful names. Most of then are from Illyrian time and some of them are from Albanian meaning. I can emphesize the few "borrowed" names are not authentic albanian but from ottoman occupation each are very rare used. What about your name my friend? Why are you using your own name? Are you ashamed?

Its so easy for all the serbs living in the UK or canada etc to talk tough and support the radicals , you have your visas and good wages ! think about your country men back home , they deserve a chance as well

'The choice of Serbia's citizens is clear - No more EU deceit and the DS in opposition.'

Yeah thats right - the fact that most Serbian citizens voted for the DS coalition clearly is a vote against Europe and a vote for DS coalition to be in opposition...

After all this careless talk of yours, how silly are you going to look if / when DS leads the government, has a president only just starting his term and speeds ahead with EU integration?

Jovan, serbians are the decendents of illyrians, just stay calm. Everyone dealing with histroy in civilized countries knows this, that's why the international community is helping Kosovars to be indipendent. It would be a shame for illyrians such as you are to stay in a common state with Kosovars.
Anyway, enjoy the radicals coalition, hopefully.
The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -it is the illusion of knowledge

Ironically, it's the SPS that's Kingmaker now. I have no doubt Tadic is either going to go after the entire SPS coalition, or chip away at one of its smaller partners.

If we assume a DS+LDP+minorities coalition, they're short three seats of a majority. Putting the SPS coalition, or one of the smaller parties, such as JS on the ticket means a majority.

Tadic will probably do this before he takes a deep breath and phones Vojo.

milosevic the best friend albanians ever had is dead, but albanians must again look to his party for rescue :)
its really as simple as that. if sps gives tadic a government, tadic will go on to recognize kosovo in little steps, and the problem is solved. especially eulex problem which is now huge for the eu.
on the other hand of course we will never become a member. of course the eu don’t care if we live or die any more than we do if they live or die. serbia and the eu will never meet, i'm sure of this. i was sure of this even when i hoped it might happen. now the eu just want their kosovo abomination not to explode bloody in their faces and for this they must have solana boys in power.
personally unlike when i voted tadic in february i now have a clear conscience, whatever happens. i voted dss, a normal, moderate, pro-serbia party.
i hope they can make a deal with srs and sps, but i would'nt underestimate the sps' ability to harm serbian national interests, just look at the past. and then what happens, its really anybody's guess.
it's good to remember though turks, nazis, communists at this moment of our grave and deep national crisis, to remember how our broken spine always healed. we're like that as a nation :) the results clearly show how that at least half us are resisting. and more will come round as soon as: no one can arrest mladic, no one can ratify saa, no one can turn worthless memorandums into real contracts, and a million other silly lies are exposed for the hot air they are.

Contrary to what b92 and many posters have said, DS did not "win" the election. If they had "won" they would now be about to enter government and considering the make-up of the cabinet.
But once again the Serbian electorate has thrown up a number of possibilities which are clear to everyone. It's all to play for now with the six or seven main parties all in there with a say. And when it's all done and dusted and a new government is formed, the parties who coalesce will be the ones who have "won".

am I missing something here or what???? Why is Tadic and the EU celebrating???? I mean, doesn't SRS+DSS+SP give you a majority of 127?

No matter what Tadic does, short of grovelling before the SP and letting a pro-Milosevic become prime minister, I don't see how he can get to th magic number 126. Or maybe he might just grovel after all. We will see.

The first round is over and there's little to be done but wait for the final results. Then there will be the second and the decisive round to show the Champion.

Right now we can only speculate. I personally don't think that the choice was EITHER EU OR RUSSIA because most of those who voted for Tadic also feel much more sympathy for Russia but not for the EU. It's hard to avoid the EU trend living in the heart of Europe. So the rest of the Serbs also don't mind the integration.

So the real choice to my mind was EU AT ANY PRICE OR NOT. Evidently those who said NOT AT ANY PRICE have the upper hand. Congratulations ! Let Tadic and his supporters amuse people around with their "victory" celebtrating before the cold shower they cannot avoid starts.

rolerkoster,
I don't see your logic. Roger Federer wins Wimbledon in straight sets. The next year he wins again, but is forced to win in five setMJWR5Us. Would you then say that Federer was the looser, since he had lost ground since the previous championship? Is he not still the winner?

There were two clear choices in this election:

"EU! (and Kosovo)"

and

"EU - not without Kosovo".

Since SRS, DSS and SPS were very clear about the last choice, and since they won 127 seats, clearly this is the will of the people. It does not matter that DS did better than expected.

@smile - If you want me to read your posts, please use proper capitalisation of both names and when you begin a new sentence.

A blank line before each paragraph would also help immensely.

PS: If you use Firefox, PLEASE install the English language dictionary plug-in. It will automatically mark all misspelled word as you type, and a simple right-click on the word will allow you to select the correct spelling.

The previous General Election in Serbia was held in January 2007. The voter turnout then was almost the same as in the elections held yesterday (60.4% in 2007, 60.7% in 2008).

The Serbian Radical Party won a few more votes in yesterday's election (28.59% in 2007, 29.22% in 2008).

Cedo Jovanovic’s Liberal Party maintained its vote, as did the Socialists together with their allies.

The real losers were DSS/NS. Their vote fell by over 5% in yesterday’s election (16.55% in 2007, 11.34% in 2008).

The Democratic Party (allied with G17 and SPO) were the beneficiaries of the DSS/NS decline. Their vote was up by almost 6% (32.83% in 2007, 38.75% in 2008).

It is a mess :)

I have no idea what the end result will be, but I doubt it will be a strong and long-lived coalition government. If it does not break on the Kosovo issue, it will break on economic issues.

What I would like to see now, is a break down of of the votes, showing where each party did well, and where they did bad. Where did the votes in the major cities go? Where did the people living in rural areas put their votes? Any interesting patterns in age, income, ethnicity?

This is of-topic but since you Albanians love everything anglo-american isn´t changing your names to "John" "Maks" "Bob" "George" and g-d knows what a little too much?

And Jan Denmark, please explain your Danish somewhat bizarre Serbophobia will you? I mean shouldn´t you join Flemmning Rose chanting AGAINST muslims?

Maybe there is something we can do to help you, im sure.

hans christian you should've spoken sooner. shift key aint no friend of mine on these tiny notebook keyboards now let me tell you.
of course i'll do what you suggest, i enjoy your comments and think they are really intelligent and make a lot of sense not to mention the sense of humour. plus there's this certain.. je ne sais quoi, sounds like you know what you're talking about a lot of the time.
now, but you must understand, i'm your average serbian joe. i can barely speak and spell my native serbian, and its as beautiful a language as you can find, let alone foreign tongues. you know how we serbs be :))
there's another thing. i watched that javier dulic fella on rts this evening, and zarko obradovic from sps, yes, yes, you'll start learning all these names soon :). boy oh boy did it not look like there was ds/sps coalition in the making. the solana fella actually attacked him because of the policy in the 90s which strikes me as particularly dumb unless you know its not happening so then, at least lets attack sps, and the sps fella went on about bombing, sanctions kosovo snatching and other such eu us beauties. also now there's rumours that west is pressuring tadic and other boys to form government BY JUNE 15, while there's another rumour and that is that THE BEAR has gotten involved and is pressuring sps not to even think about giving tadic what he wants.
er, as we all know, the bear has a certain amount of leverage over sps :) or at least i hope we all know.
and one more thing. imagine please a government of ds/lsv/spo/sdp/g17 and sps/pups/js and, minorities, which means i have no idea how many hungarian parties in the hunagarian coalition but i'm thinking at least 3, and then 2 a piece for the muslim and albanian coalitions... this comes to 15 parties at least!!
that no way to form a stable government. that ends in tears so to speak.

Its so easy for all the serbs living in the UK or canada etc to talk tough and support the radicals , you have your visas and good wages ! think about your country men back home , they deserve a chance as well
(lee coleman , london UK ., 12 May 2008 20:53)
--
Lee, those Serbs in the UK, Australia, Canada, etc can say what they want but it is the citizens in Serbia doing the voting and it is their choice to choose who they want - And that is exactly what they have done, regardless of what the Serbians in the west have said.

The choice of Serbia's citizens is clear - No more EU deceit and the DS in opposition.

Dear People,

You are all on drugs (and I must be too).

Speaking from a point of clarity:

1: There is no clear and substantive mandate one way or another.

2: Serbia remains divided.

3: Nothing new. Is the pope catholic?

first of all: I am astonished about how many "experts" are writing here...

if they were all so smart, the kosovo-albanian community should have been the wealthiest in the whole balkans-area 40 years ago...

it´s quite clear kids: 102 vs. 127, it only depends on how the coalitions will be formed...

as a sidenote:
Maks, you should not teach others about the english-language, since you obviously do not have a clue.

is anglo-american, indeed. you seem to mix up english history with todays language... just as you are mixing up your illyrian illusions with your reality...

you have as much in common with the illyrians as the Serbs have in common with the Aztec-culture...

but that´s nothing new in regard to albanian history-knowledge... we are used to it, but please: do not give language-lessons here...it only causes a smile, not more.

@ Luigi: 60% is almost double than 34% albanians, shiptari, that voted last year in Kosovo. I dont know what you want to say.

Funny to see that you didn't write anything about the missing 66% of albanians voters, but course you have to do it now for Serbians