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President Boris Tadic claims victory in Serbian presidential election

Serbia faced an uncertain political future as nationalists and their pro-Western rivals scrambled to forge alliances that would let them take power after bitterly divisive weekend elections.

At stake was President Boris Tadic's drive to bring the impoverished Balkan country closer to membership in the European Union, and the international community's demand that Serbia bring fugitive war crimes suspects to justice.

"A new and in many ways uncertain phase in the country's political life has begun," said Braca Grubacic, a leading political analyst.

Sunday's vote left Serbia sharply split: Although Tadic's reformist Coalition for a European Serbia got the most votes, it was forced to seek support from minority parties to gain the parliamentary majority needed to form a government.

Meanwhile, far-rightist Tomislav Nikolic's Radical Party, which finished second, met with nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's conservative coalition in an all-out bid to steer Serbia away from the EU and toward traditional ally Russia.

Both Nikolic and Tadic were courting the late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party in hopes of piecing together at least 126 seats in the 250-seat parliament, the minimum needed to form a government.

Near-complete results released by the state electoral commission gave Tadic's bloc 102 seats and the Radicals 77.

Tadic was reaching out to the Liberal Party, which won 14, and to an ethnic Hungarian party that took four seats. If Tadic persuaded the Socialists to join him with their 20 seats, he would have a total of 140 seats.

But Nikolic was assured of the support of the 30 deputies loyal to Kostunica's coalition, and if he were to get the Socialist swing seats, his alliance would total 127 seats.