BELGRADE, Feb 4: Boris Tadic celebrated his re-election as Serbia’s president by pledging on Monday to stay on a pro-Western course despite nationalist anger over a looming declaration of independence by Kosovo province.

The state electoral commission said on Monday that Tadic won 50.5 per cent, while his extreme nationalist challenger Tomislav Nikolic had 47. 7 per cent a difference of some 128,000 votes among the 4.5 million ballots cast. The remaining 1.8 per cent of ballots were invalid.

“This is Serbia which is going straight to the European Union,” Tadic told thousands of his jubilant supporters, waving Serbian and EU flags in downtown Belgrade early Monday.—AP