Serbs voted for closer ties with Europe instead of isolation for the second time in three months in Sunday's snap parliamentary poll, in a surprise turnaround that negated pre-election polls.

A pro-European coalition led by President Boris Tadic won the most votes, claiming 39 per cent of the ballots cast, overtaking the ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party as the largest group in parliament, according to private election monitoring agency Cesid.

"At this moment, it is important to say that the citizens of Serbia have undoubtedly confirmed a clear European path for Serbia," said Mr Tadic.

"They confirmed the aim to preserve our territorial integrity and sovereignty," added Tadic, the leader of the Democratic Party (DS), in reference to Serbia's breakaway Kosovo province.

"I just want to remind you that (Kosovo's ethnic Albanian) authorities proclaimed independence just a couple of weeks ago.

"Despite such temptation, the Serbian people, all ethnic communities, have shown high political conscience and voted for the European path," he said in reference to fears of an anti-European voter backlash after some 40 mostly Western countries recognised Kosovo's statehood.

Kosovo backlash

The polls were a virtual referendum asking voters to choose between entering or rebuffing the European Union in a backlash to the independence of Kosovo, which most Serbs see as their historic heartland.

They were triggered by the collapse in March of the coalition government of nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica in a rift over how to deal with integration into the European Union after most EU states recognised Kosovo.

Earlier, counts by the electoral commission, poll monitors and various parties showed Tadic's "For a European Serbia" alliance was on course for a surprise victory in the parliamentary polls.

Turnout was about 60 per cent, Cesid said, lower than expected after Serb politicians drummed up the election for weeks as crucial for the nation's course.

Basing its projection on a sample of some 400 key polling stations among 8,600, the traditionally reliable Cesid said another pro- European group, the Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP), won 5.2 per cent of the votes, qualifying for parliament.

That provisionally translates to 103 seats for Tadic's Democratic Party and 13 for the LDP, which, with the votes of ethnic minority representatives, brings the pro-European camp close to a majority in the assembly of 250 seats.

Tadic 'underdog'

The anti-Western bloc of the opposition Radicals (SRS) and the outgoing Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), came to some 28 and 11.5 per cent of the votes, or 76 and 30 seats, respectively.

The two sides, which pre-election surveys suggested would form the next government, were the big losers on the night. SRS and DSS have vowed to turn Belgrade away from EU membership talks in protest at Western support of Kosovo's independence from Serbia.

The late Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party (SPS) did slightly better than forecast by winning eight per cent, or a projected 21 seats, and remains in picture as a possible coalition partner in either of the two big blocs.

The anti-Western bloc retained a theoretical, but very unlikely chance of assembling a majority with several coalition partners.

The outcome, and the turnaround, are a carbon copy of the presidential election in January and February, in which Tadic was underdog to the SRS chief Tomislav Nikolic, but after trailing in surveys and losing the first-round vote clearly won in the run-off on February 3.