Tomislav Nikolic, the pro-Russian nationalist opposition candidate, won the first round of Serbia’s presidential poll on Sunday, according to preliminary results from independent monitors.

The independent Centre for Free Elections and Democracy said Mr Nikolic took 39.4 per cent of the votes cast – four points ahead of Boris Tadic, the pro-European Union incumbent. The results, with ballots cast by 60.6 per cent of 6.7m registered voters, set the stage for a tense February 3 run-off.