Serbia`s Boris Tadic has resigned nine months before the end of his presidential term, paving the way for an early election. The pro-Western Tadic is expected to face strong competition from nationalist Tomislav Nikolic.
Tadic is set to leave the office April 6, after that Slavica Djukic Dejanovic, the speaker of parliament, will become the acting President until a new head of state is elected.
Serbia`s parliamentary speaker is expected to call a vote for May 6, the same day that general elections are already scheduled. According to the Law on the Election of the President, the vote must be called at least 30 days before the election takes place, which means by April 7 if the vote is to go ahead on May 6, reports Balkan Insight.
Tadic`s presidential term would have expired at the end of this year. But he decided for an early vote to boost the chances of his Democratic Party, which has been slipping in recent pre-election polls against Nikolic`s populist Serbian Progressive Party.
Dragan Bujosevic, editor of the Serbian daily Politika, told Balkan Insight that later on Tadic "would risk losing, as he would go into the second round [of the presidential polls] with [opposition leader Tomislav] Nikolic."
sections: Politics |