Serbia goes to the polls today to elect a new president with the incumbent pro-European Boris Tadic set for a victory over nationalist challenger Tomislav Nikolic.

I support a two-door policy, both towards the East and the West

Surveys predict that Tadic, 54, will secure a fresh five-year mandate to lead Serbia, with some 58 per cent of the vote in the run-off ahead of populist Nikolic’s 42 per cent.

The incumbent president – who brought the former international pariah state to the doorstep of the European Union with Serbia’s candidacy status in March – focused his campaign on EU integration and economic development.

If elected, Tadic has vowed that during what would be his third and last presidential mandate, Serbia will start EU membership talks by the end of this year, with the aim of joining in five years.

“May 20 is going to bring a big democratic decision – whether we will remain a stable country, or one burdened with problems,” Tadic told a final pre-poll rally.

Tadic came just ahead of Nikolic in the May 6 first round of presidential elections, but the nationalist challenger accused the incumbent of fraud.

The claims have been dismissed both by Serbia’s prosecutor and electoral officials but they have cast a shadow over the polls.

Nikolic insists that a probe into the claims by the state prosecutor was controlled by Tadic’s party and has vowed in this round to “personally fight” any attempt at election fraud.

A one-time ally of the late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, Nikolic is a recent convert to the European cause.

The 60-year-old has vowed to stay on a pro-European course but warned that he would not join the bloc at any cost.

“I support a two-door policy, both towards the East and the West,” he said in a heated TV debate with Tadic last week, accusing the incumbent of favouring only cooperation with the EU and US.

Instead, Nikolic was also campaigning on populist promises, like tax hikes on the rich which would be used to increase pensions and welfare payments.