BELGRADE (Serbia), April 21 (SeeNews) – Prime minister Aleksandar Vucic has won 55.08% of the vote in Serbia's presidential election, according to final official results.
Vucic, who is leader of conservative Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), was backed by 2.013 million voters out of 3,654,014 who went to the polls on April 2, a turnout of 54.34%, the head of the election commission, Vladimir Dimitrijevic said in a statement issued by the government press office on Thursday.
Serbia's ombudsman Sasa Jankovic came in second with 16.33%, or 597,728 votes. Luka Maksimovic, a student in political sciences nominated by a group of citizens, was third with 9.43%, or 344,498 votes.
Vuk Jeremic, who served as Serbia's foreign minister between 2007 and 2012, and the leader of nationalist Serbian Radical Party (SRS), Vojislav Seselj, received 5.66% and 4.48% of the vote, respectively.
Final election results had to be announced within 96 hours after the closing of polling stations on April 2, but voting had to be repeated in eight polling stations on April 12 and in additional three on April 17, due to irregularities.
Serbia's new government will be formed by the end of May, Vucic told a news conference late on April 2.
Serbia is run by a coalition government of SNS and the Socialist SPS party.
Vucic has been prime minister of Serbia since April 27, 2014. Between July 2012 and April 2014, he was deputy prime minister in the government of incumbent foreign minister Ivica Dacic.