The Democratic Party (DS) of Serbian President Boris Tadic on Saturday called on Tomislav Nikolic, the leader of the opposition Serb Progressive Party (SNS) to fight fairly and stop threatening with his suicide.
Addressing a rally which his party organised in Belgrade on Saturday afternoon, Nikolic said he had begun hunger strike earlier in the day in order to persuade Serbia's President Tadic to call early elections. He said he would not take food and water until Tadic set a date for early polls,
"Even during the dictatorship of Slobodan Milosevic, the Democratic Party did not resort to hunger strike but fought fairly and bravely for the victory at elections," the DS said in a statement on Saturday evening.
How come that somebody who identifies himself as an European resorts to blackmailing Serbia with his own life, the DS said in the statement.
The SNS dismissed the ruling party's statement as hypocritical and vowed to continue "struggling for a better Serbia".
Tens of thousands of members and sympathisers of the opposition SNS on Saturday gathered in Belgrade, demanding extraordinary elections.
The organisers said that 120,000 people had gathered for the rally while the police estimates put the figure at 40,000. According to media, the protest rally was peaceful with strong police forces engaged for this purpose.
The voting is currently due to take place in early 2012. Nikolic accuses Tadic of refusing to call early polls under the pretext that they would undermine Serbia's efforts to be granted the status of European Union membership candidate.
