Serbia Heads for Early Elections

Serbia's government Tuesday urged President Tomislav Nikolic to dissolve parliament and call early elections for March 16, as the main party seeks to capitalize on support after starting EU accession talks.

A government statement called for an early vote -- two years before the parliament's mandate expires -- "in order to get larger support for the continuation of reforms and modernization of society."

Nikolic is expected to dissolve parliament formally on Wednesday.

The pro-European Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) is currently leading in the polls, enjoying around 43 percent support.

The SNS is the senior partner in Serbia's ruling coalition and party leader, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, told supporters over the weekend that "the time has come to give account of what we have done."

Analysts say the SNS wants to capitalize on strong public support after the start of accession talks with the European Union earlier this month.

Backing for the party has also been bolstered by the arrests of several former ministers and tycoons as part of a fight against corruption and organised crime.

The second-largest party, the opposition Democratic Party (DS), stands at around 13 percent in the polls.

Trailing further behind is the Socialist Party of Serbia, a junior partner in the ruling coalition, on 11 percent.

Since taking power, the government has significantly improved relations with long-time foe Kosovo, which has in turn paved the way for Serbia to start talks on EU membership.

Serbia hopes to join the 28-member bloc by 2020.