Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban ride the first train on the Belgrade-Novi Sad section at the Belgrade railway station on March 19, 2022. Photo: Xinhua

 
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic declared his convincing victory on Sunday in the first round of the presidential elections, securing another five-year term.

According to preliminary results of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) revealed by Vucic, he won between 59-and 61 percent in the elections, while the coalition around the ruling SNS won 44 percent of parliamentary elections.

"I believe that we are facing numerous challenges, but that the most important thing for Serbia is to have good relations in the region, to continue on the European path, but not to lose traditional friendships," Vucic said in a speech at his party headquarters.

Vucic thanked his coalition partners from the previous government, including the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM), announcing the possibility of further partnership.

Vucic said that his results were based on the counted votes from 85 percent of polling stations. Serbian Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) announced that it will publish preliminary results on Monday.

Around 6.5 million registered voters casted ballots on Sunday to choose between eight presidential candidates, and 19 parties or coalitions for the parliament.