Serbia: 2004 Presidential Elections (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
June 29, 2004 |
| Report Number |
RS21856 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Julie Kim, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
Serbia, the larger republic within the Serbia and Montenegro union, held presidential elections
on
June 13 and 27, 2004. While the actual powers of the republican presidency are not very extensive,
the election outcome was expected to signal the political direction of Serbia and its prospects for
closer relations with the international community. In the first round of voting, Tomislav Nikolic,
leader of the extremist Serbian Radical Party, and Boris Tadic, candidate of the opposition
Democratic Party, came in first and second place in front of 13 other candidates. In the second
round, Tadic defeated Nikolic, 54% to 45%. Calling the results a victory for "a European
future"
over radical nationalism, Tadic pledged to guide the country closer to European Union membership.
However, Tadic's victory may trigger still more political changes, including early
parliamentary
elections. A related CRS product is CRS Report RL30371 , Serbia and Montenegro: Current
Situation and U.S. Policy , by Steven Woehrel.
