The pro-Western coalition claimed victory in Serbian parliamentary elections on Sunday, which is set to give momentum to the Balkan country's integration into the European Union.

  Serbian President and leader of Democratic Party Boris Tadic casts his vote at a polling station in Belgrade May 11, 2008.

The latest released preliminary results showed the pro-Western Coalition for a European Serbia led by President Boris Tadic won 38 percent of the votes, or 103 seats in the next parliament.

The next popular contender, ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party rallied around Tomislav Nikolic, trailed with 29.1 percent, or 77 parliamentary seats.

The Coalition of Democratic Party of Serbian and New Serbia with nationalist outgoing Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica at the helm garnered 11.3 percent of the votes, or 30 parliamentary seats.

The other two parties over the 5 percent threshold to enter the parliament are Liberal Democratic Party and Socialist Party of Serbia. They each got 5.2 percent or 13 seats and 7.9 percent, or 20 seats respectively.

The Center for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID), a non- government monitoring institution based the results on 85 percent of counted samples.

CeSID gave the turnout at 60.7 percent, meaning around 4.1 million from some 6.75 million registered voters cast their ballots to elect 250 members of the parliament from 22 party and party coalition tickets. Voters are also to choose 120 deputies to the Vojvodina Assembly, as well as councilors to 24 city halls and 150 municipal assemblies.

With the necessary 126 seats to be in a majority in the 250- seat parliament, neither party is able to form a government alone, meaning joining force among the parties is inevitable.

(Xinhua News Agency May 12, 2008)