The leader of the opposition Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and its candidate for President of Serbia, Tomislav Nikolic, has decided to run in the second round of presidential elections scheduled for May 20 even though he said on Saturday that he was close to deciding not to participate in the runoff because in that way he would "give legitimacy to vote theft."
Nikolic said on Sunday that he had decided to participate in the second round after all, but that his party would use all legal means available in its efforts to determine "the true results" of the May 6 general elections.
"They would certainly declare a victory, whether we participated or not. The rest would only destabilise Serbia in this worst of times," Nikolic was quoted by Tanjug news agency as saying.
Nikolic said that if he won the election citizens would learn "the real truth", telling his rival, Boris Tadic of the Democratic Party (DS), that the second round of voting "must be democratic and fair."
The SNS Presidency announced on Saturday that they did not recognise the election results released by the National Election Commission, after which Nikolic said that the party would hold protest rallies throughout the country, citing "ample evidence of election irregularities". It was not immediately clear whether protest rallies would be held after his latest decision.
The National Election Commission said that the elections were regular and there was no reason to declare them null and void.
