Serbian Parliamentary Elections Set For May 6

Serbian President Boris Tadic

President Boris Tadic has announced that Serbia will hold parliamentary elections on May 6.

Some 7 million Serbian voters will be eligible to vote for the 250 members of the national parliament, as well as for local municipal authorities.

Analysts say Tadic's Democratic Party is expected to face a strong challenge from the nationalist Serbian Progressive Party.

Tadic's ruling pro-European Union coalition is blamed by the nationalists for failing to pull Serbia out of its economic crisis, including rising unemployment and persistent corruption.

Reports say Tadic's party, however, is hoping for a potential boost from voters after bringing Serbia closer to European Union membership.

Serbia officially gained EU membership candidate status on March 2.

The last parliamentary and local elections in Serbia were held in May 2008.

With dpa and AP reports