Election failure sparks political crisis in Serbia

SERBIA was heading for a major political crisis yesterday after it failed for a second time to elect a president and the top contender, Yugoslav president Vojislav Kostunica, said he would not recognise the outcome.

Mr Kostunica who won most votes in Sunday's election that failed because of low turnout claimed he was robbed of his victory because of irregular voter lists, announced legal steps to challenge the ballot.

"We will not recognise the results of this election," Mr Kostunica said hours after the polls closed. "Crime is the right word for what happened here."