Turnout in the second round of Serbia'spresidential election today was just over 21 per cent six hoursbefore closing the polling stations.
Anon-governmental observer group saidthe turnout was 21.7 per cent by 2 p.m.today - lower thanthe 27.3 per cent who had cast their votes in the same period duringthe first round of the election on September 29th.
"We could expect a turnout of just about 50 per cent if the samepercentage of voters cast their ballots in the next six hours," saidMr Zoran Lucic of the independent Center for Free Elections andDemocracy (CESID).
Under Serbia's electoral law, a turnout of over 50 percent isrequired for the election to be valid.
In the first round the turnout was 55.6 percent out of some 6.5million voters.
The two candidates, Mr Vojislav Kostunica and Mr Miroljub Labus, haveurged voters to turn out for the poll to keep Serbia on the road torecovery and European integration, despite their sharp differencesover the pace this should take.
Ultra-nationalist radical leader Mr Vojislav Seselj, who came thirdin the first round with some 23 per cent of votes, called on hissupporters to boycott today's run-off.
AFP