BELGRADE (AFP) - Serbia was sharply divided between moderate reformers and hardline nationalists after the first nationwide local elections since ex-strongman Slobodan Milosevic was ousted from power four years ago.
The reformist Democratic Party (DS) kept its grip on the capital Belgrade but nationalists, including Milosevic's Socialist Party (SPS), performed strongly in the provinces.
The nationalist Serbian Radical Party (SRS), which became the strongest single party in parliament after December general elections, looked set to capture Novi Sad, the capital of ethnically mixed northern Vojvodina province.
Nationalist candidates also found firm support in the south near the border with the breakaway UN-administered province of Kosovo, as well as in the impoverished central provinces, unofficial results showed Monday.
SRS leader Tomislav Nikolic said the ground had been prepared for a major nationalist push for early general elections in February.
"This was the year of success for the Radicals and next year will be even more successful," he was quoted as saying in the Glas Javnosti daily.
"We're getting ready for early parliamentary elections in February."
In the reformist camp, the four parties of the ruling coalition under Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica gained at least 29 municipalities while the DS, which is in opposition at a national level, secured 24, according to the Beta news agency.
This compared with 19 each for the SRS and the SPS, the two main nationalist parties in the Balkan country.
"Serbia is still divided between reformers and nationalists," said journalist Stojan Cerovic.
"Political and economic reforms launched four years ago, although slower than expected, could halt completely if the Radicals come to power," analyst Divna Vukomanovic told AFP.
The elections were seen as an important test of strength for Serbia's moderates, who dominate on the national level despite an intense rivalry between Kostunica's DSS and the DS under President Boris Tadic.
"This government will only be the keeper of power during the winter period, nothing more than that," analyst Djordje Vukadinovic told RTS television.
"There have been no absolute winners in these elections, only relative winners and the political scene is much more colourful than we think."