President Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist alliance led in Serbian presidential and parliamentary elections with two-thirds of the vote counted yesterday. But the hardline nationalist Radical Party (SRS) was in close pursuit.
Interim figures from the electoral commission forecast a second round of voting for the presidency of Serbia and that no party would win an outright majority in parliament.
The trend in Sunday's voting was a setback for Mr Milosevic, whose ruling Socialist Party (SPS) might win only 102 seats in the 250-member parliament, compared with 123 in 1993, and need a coalition partner to stay in power.
Unofficial media projections said the Radicals could win around 80 seats and the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) 48.
Political sources said Mr Milosevic would be forced to offer strong inducements to the SPO to team with the SPS and prolong 50 years of unbroken communist-socialist government.
A boycott by opposition parties hoping to invalidate the polls with a turnout below the 50 per cent legal minimum failed when more than 60 per cent of the seven million electorate voted, the commission said.
Mr Ivica Dacic, spokesman for the Socialists, said their presidential candidate, Mr Zoran Lilic, had 37.5 per cent of the votes counted so far.
The SRS candidate, Mr Vojislav Seselj, was second with 28.5 per cent and Mr Vuk Draskovic of the SPO third with 23 per cent, according to Mr Dacic.
The SPS said the result in the parliamentary poll was closer, with the ruling SPS coalition winning 36 per cent and the Radicals, scoring much more strongly than expected, taking 30 per cent. The SPO trailed with just over 21 per cent.
The presidential battle headed for a run-off on October 5th since no candidate appeared likely to have achieved more than 50 per cent last Sunday.