KOSJERIC: Residents of a small Serbian town turned out in large numbers for a municipal election that posed a high-stakes test for the national government after months of student-led protests. The vote in Kosjeric was the first since the protests broke out against the governing nationalist party in November after 16 people died when the roof of a newly renovated train station collapsed in the city of Novi Sad.
The governing Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) was challenged by the united independent candidates' list United for Kosjeric, supported by student protest leaders, in the town of 10,000 people. Vucic said his SNS had won the election with more than 50 per cent of votes, but his opponents also claimed victory.
The town's electoral commission had yet to publish official results late on Sunday. Vucic told a news conference in Belgrade: "We won because the people chose the state; because the people said: 'You will not destroy Serbia!'" His opponents earlier rallied in Kosjeric, claiming victory themselves after the close of voting. "Victory has begun. Let all Serbia celebrate," lead candidate Slavic Pantovic told a crowd. — AFP
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