Serbia run-off vote will be 'referendum on EU': frontrunner

(BELGRADE) - Serbia's presidential election run-off this weekend will be a "referendum on the EU", the party of pro-European incumbent Boris Tadic, the frontrunner, said on Thursday.

Tadic faces nationalist challenger Tomislav Nikolic on Sunday.

"The presidential elections in Serbia will in fact be a referendum on the European Union," Tadic's party said in a statement.

Tadic is heading for a landslide victory with latest polls predicting he will win up to 58 percent of the vote.

He has persistently urged Serbia not to turn its back on the European Union and managed to get the country EU candidacy status in March.

"May 20 is going to bring a big democratic decision -- whether we will remain a stable country, or one burdened with problems," Tadic told some 20,000 supporters at a final pre-poll rally held in a Belgrade sports hall.

Tadic said he wanted a "European spirit in the Balkan part of Europe."

"We have fought hard to become a pillar of stability in the region and we want to keep Serbia in this position," Tadic said.

A number of local celebrities, but also foreign politicians -- including former French defence minister Alain Richard, presented as a special envoy of new French President Francois Holland -- attended the rally.

Instead of holding a last rally before a media blackout on campaigning starts at midnight (2200 GMT), Nikolic issued a video message to supporters, urging voters to "punish Tadic for every promise he has not fulfilled."

"Serbia needs a president who will fight crime and corruption," Nikolic said in a message broadcast on local TV stations.

Nikolic, a one-time ally of the late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, is a recent convert to the European cause. However, he has made it clear that if he was elected Serbia would not join the bloc at any cost.

More than 6.7 million eligible voters will cast their ballot at more than 8,500 polling stations on Sunday from 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) until 8 p.m.