(3 Feb 2008) SHOTLIST
++MUTE++
1. Wide of Boris Tadic, incumbent Serbian President, arriving at voting station with family
++AUDIO++
2. Mid of Tadic approaching officials at desk
3. Mid of Tadic approaching ballot box and holding vote over slot
4. Cutaway of cameraman
5. Mid of Tadic smiling for photographers and dropping vote in box
6. Mid of Tadic and family approaching media outside polling station
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Tadic, incumbent Serbian President:
"There is going to be some kind of referendum in Serbia. I'm totally sure that we are going to have a huge participation of our citizens in these elections and I am at the same time totally sure that we are going to take the same direction towards European Union after this election. I'm very optimistic in terms of final result of this election. That is my statement."
8. Exterior of voting station where Tomislav Nikolic, deputy leader of the ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party and presidential hopeful, will vote
STORYLINE
Serbia's incumbent president, Boris Tadic cast his vote in Belgrade on Sunday, in a runoff presidential election that may bring an ally of late hardline President Slobodan Milosevic back to power, ahead of a potentially explosive split by the Serbian province of Kosovo.
Joined by his family, Tadic smiled for cameras as he dropped his vote into the ballot box.
Speaking afterwards, Tadic told reporters he was "very optimistic in terms of final result of this election."
"I'm totally sure that we are going to have a huge participation of our citizens in these elections and I am at the same time totally sure that we are going to take the same direction towards European Union after this election," Tadic said.
The closely contested race pits pro-Western Tadic against rightwing extremist and deputy leader of the ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party Tomislav Nikolic, who ruled with Milosevic during his bloody Balkan wars of the 1990s.
The vote is predicted to be one of the tightest ever in Serbia.
The outcome will also decide how Serbia will react to the expected declaration of independence by its cherished Kosovo province.
The winner of the election may determine whether the pivotal Balkan country will continue on its path of pro-Western reform and closer ties with the European Union (EU) or return to isolation similar to that in Milosevic's era.
Although some pollsters gave Tadic a slight lead ahead of the balloting, they said the race was too close to call.
Both Tadic and Nikolic oppose independence for Kosovo, but Tadic has ruled out the use of force and would likely seek to preserve close ties with the EU and the United States and other allies even if they recognise Kosovo statehood.
Nikolic, on the other hand, has said that Serbia must abandon its bid to become a member of the EU if the bloc upholds Kosovo's independence declaration.
He has called for closer ties with Russia, which supports Serbia in the Kosovo dispute.
Nikolic, deputy leader of the ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party, served as a deputy prime minister during Milosevic's 1998-99 war in Kosovo, when NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) bombed Serbia for 78 days to stop his brutal crackdown against the province's separatists.
The province has been run by the United Nations and NATO since the war.
Kosovo's Albanian leaders said they would declare independence days after the Serbian runoff, no matter who wins, and they expect the US and most EU countries to follow up with quick recognitions.
Tadic's Democratic Party played a key role in Milosevic's ouster from power in 2000.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
