Serbs started voting on Sunday in the first key elections since Serbia became independent last year after the dissolution of its union with Montenegro.

Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) and will close at 8:00 p.m. (1900 GMT) for some 6.6 million eligible voters to cast their ballots. Preliminary results can be expected before midnight.

The main contenders in the elections will be the Serbian Radical Party (SRS), President Boris Tadic's Democratic Party (DS) and Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS).

However, opinions polls indicated no party would win an outright majority, which would force them to strike a coalition deal.

The elections came after Serbia split its union with Montenegro and became independent in 2006, and five days before UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari will submit a proposal for the future status of Kosovo.

Ethinic Albanians, who account for some 90 percent of Kosovo's population of 2 million, have been demanding independence.

Source: Xinhua