Voters went to the polling stations on May 20 for the second round of a presidential race that pitted two-term President Boris Tadic against nationalist Tomislav Nikolic for a five-year term as head of the Serbian state.
Ballots Cast In Serbia's Runoff Presidential Vote
![A man walks past election billboards in Belgrade that show presidential candidates Boris Tadic (right) and Tomislav Nikolic. Tadic won 26.7 percent and Nikolic 25.5 in the first round. (AFP PHOTO/ANDREJ ISAKOVIC)](https://gdb.rferl.org/86e7765d-c82f-455c-98a5-f812e7247907_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A man walks past election billboards in Belgrade that show presidential candidates Boris Tadic (right) and Tomislav Nikolic. Tadic won 26.7 percent and Nikolic 25.5 in the first round. (AFP PHOTO/ANDREJ ISAKOVIC)
![Two-term President Boris Tadic voted at a downtown Belgrade polling station on May 20, calling it "a very important day for Serbia and the five years ahead because the future path of Serbia will be redefined."](https://gdb.rferl.org/84d40d32-918a-4951-bdc9-6f5c14eb2d4d_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Two-term President Boris Tadic voted at a downtown Belgrade polling station on May 20, calling it "a very important day for Serbia and the five years ahead because the future path of Serbia will be redefined."
![Nikolic was joined by his wife, Dragica, at the polling station on May 20. A 60-year-old former cemetery manager, he has vowed to steer a pro-EU course but also warned he will not let Serbia join the bloc at any cost.](https://gdb.rferl.org/b5b2ddc4-b1cf-4d60-8a79-60b2b9de9198_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Nikolic was joined by his wife, Dragica, at the polling station on May 20. A 60-year-old former cemetery manager, he has vowed to steer a pro-EU course but also warned he will not let Serbia join the bloc at any cost.
![One of the country's 8,500 polling stations on May 20, when some 6.7 million people were eligible to vote.](https://gdb.rferl.org/11995bcd-751b-4a51-aa07-bbbb57514d31_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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One of the country's 8,500 polling stations on May 20, when some 6.7 million people were eligible to vote.
![Tadic won the endorsement between rounds of the Socialist Party that was once headed by the late Serbian strong man Slobodan Milosevic.](https://gdb.rferl.org/0ba24120-60b9-43fc-af50-c955e5f1b10a_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Tadic won the endorsement between rounds of the Socialist Party that was once headed by the late Serbian strong man Slobodan Milosevic.
![Nikolic is a former senior member of the Serbian Radical Party who placed second behind Tadic in both the 2004 and the 2008 presidential elections.](https://gdb.rferl.org/bb7a6a50-fdd1-41f4-adc2-b555744ebcf0_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Nikolic is a former senior member of the Serbian Radical Party who placed second behind Tadic in both the 2004 and the 2008 presidential elections.
![One of the thorny issues facing the winner will be how to proceed over Kosovo, which declared independence from Belgrade in 2008 but whose sovereignty Serbia has staunchly opposed.](https://gdb.rferl.org/827a5de5-e04e-48a6-a58e-25d65826c4b5_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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One of the thorny issues facing the winner will be how to proceed over Kosovo, which declared independence from Belgrade in 2008 but whose sovereignty Serbia has staunchly opposed.
![Another problem is economic, with Serbia's 24 percent jobless rate among the highest in Europe.](https://gdb.rferl.org/187ccda9-4e2b-45a7-b8dd-3402b059718e_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Another problem is economic, with Serbia's 24 percent jobless rate among the highest in Europe.
![Tadic supporters wave Serbian and EU flags at a May 17 rally. Tadic says a third term would be dedicated to European integration and economic development. (REUTERS/Ivan Milutinovic)](https://gdb.rferl.org/4f37e827-8a6f-474d-9847-52b16647162d_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Tadic supporters wave Serbian and EU flags at a May 17 rally. Tadic says a third term would be dedicated to European integration and economic development. (REUTERS/Ivan Milutinovic)
![Tadic (left) was accompanied to a downtown-Belgrade polling station on May 20 by daughter Vanja and father Ljuba Tadic (in wheelchair). (REUTERS/Ivan Milutinovic)](https://gdb.rferl.org/dd8d59b6-3715-4a51-94ac-a6dc299cef5f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Tadic (left) was accompanied to a downtown-Belgrade polling station on May 20 by daughter Vanja and father Ljuba Tadic (in wheelchair). (REUTERS/Ivan Milutinovic)
![Billboards from the Tadic and Nikolic campaigns when they last clashed for the presidency, in 2008.](https://gdb.rferl.org/d47913e0-5bed-41f2-aa8c-46812b64e443_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Billboards from the Tadic and Nikolic campaigns when they last clashed for the presidency, in 2008.
![Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) leader Nikolic alleged fraud in the May 6 first round of voting, but subsequently backed off a threat to boycott the second-round runoff.](https://gdb.rferl.org/d3ea662e-cb3b-425d-be75-633424da01e8_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) leader Nikolic alleged fraud in the May 6 first round of voting, but subsequently backed off a threat to boycott the second-round runoff.
![A voter casts his ballot in Belgrade in the May 20 runoff vote.](https://gdb.rferl.org/3874e1c5-10ae-4173-8bd6-a2250e2eca90_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A voter casts his ballot in Belgrade in the May 20 runoff vote.
![Tadic (left) and Nikolic (center) took part in a televised debate on May 16. Their parties were neck-and-neck in parliamentary elections that accompanied the first round. (REUTERS/Radio Television Serbia Press service/Handout)](https://gdb.rferl.org/d635feda-350a-4f9b-963f-2337370534c3_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Tadic (left) and Nikolic (center) took part in a televised debate on May 16. Their parties were neck-and-neck in parliamentary elections that accompanied the first round. (REUTERS/Radio Television Serbia Press service/Handout)