BELGRADE: Serbians went to the polls Sunday to vote for a new president, with strongman Aleksandar Vucic aiming to tighten his grip on power amid accusations he is steering the nation toward authoritarian rule.

Vucic, the 47-year-old prime minister, is hoping to clinch more than 50 percent of the vote, which would allow him to win outright a five-year mandate as president.

Most surveys tip Vucic for an easy victory in the face of a divided opposition. But if he fails to win a majority in the first round, a run-off will be held on April 16.

According to the electoral commission, almost 30 percent of some 6.7 million eligible voters had cast their ballots by 2 pm (1200 GMT).

The post of president has largely been ceremonial, but analysts believe it would become much more influential under Vucic.

He has touted economic success since becoming prime minister in 2014, achieving growth of 2.8 percent last year and cleaning up public finances.

But the average Serbian earns a mere 330 euros ($355) per month while unemployment is running above 15 percent.

“With Vucic the country is going in the right direction and it will continue to improve because he is an honest man,” 65-year old pensioner Miljana said after casting her ballot.

But another voter, 77-year-old Darinka Konstantinovic, said Serbia needs to change course.

“Youngsters convinced me that there is no future for them unless we change something, so I voted for a change,” she told AFP.

There are 10 opposition candidates aiming to become president, including former ombudsman Sasa Jankovic, ex-foreign minister Vuk Jeremic and ultranationalist Vojislav Seselj.

And shaking up the race is 25-year old Luka Maksimovic.

He stands out on the campaign trail in a Borat-style white suit, a samurai-style ponytail and hipster beard. He touts a manifesto studded with lunatic pledges and goes by a made-up name that mocks politics as a circus of greed.

Using the fictional name of Ljubisa Preletacevic — nicknamed “Beli” (White) — he could even come second in the race behind Vucic, some analysts say.

Opposition candidates have presented the vote as a referendum on Vucic, whom they accuse of trying to consolidate power for himself.

Ultranationalist Seselj argues that “all the power should not be concentrated in the hands of a single man, Aleksandar Vucic.”

“One should not decide everything alone, (power) should be divided,” 44-year old voter Mile Jelaca, a real estate agent, told AFP. But Vucic, who came to vote with his teenage daughter shortly after the polls open at 7 am (0500 GMT), rejected the opposition accusations as “ridiculous”.

“They can say whatever they want. I will respect Serbia’s constitution. That is my obligation and that is what I will do,” he told reporters after casting his ballot in New Belgrade.

Both the opposition and independent media monitoring groups have cried foul over the omnipresence of Vucic in the media.

In the week leading up to the vote, national TV channels devoted 51 percent of their airtime to Vucic, more than all the other candidates put together, according to an analysis by the Kliping research agency published in the Danas daily.

On Thursday, the last day of the campaign, all but two of the dozen or so national dailies appeared wrapped in full-page ads reading: “On April 2, give a decisive vote to Aleksandar Vucic.”

Ex-ombudsman Jankovic, seen as a key Vucic rival, has also claimed public sector workers have been intimidated ahead of the vote, citing testimony to that effect. The opposition hopes to force Vucic into a second round, which could be “dangerous” for the prime minister, according to political analyst Dusan Janjic. “After this (vote) nothing in Serbia will be the same any longer,” Jankovic said after voting with his family in Belgrade. “We will begin to put things in order.”

Vucic has run a typically aggressive campaign, with a video showing a plane marked “Serbia 2017” about to crash due to a lack of leadership.

He has accused opponents of receiving “millions of euros (from) certain foreign countries”, without offering specifics.

The opposition fears electoral fraud, particularly in Albanian-dominated Kosovo where some 120,000 Serbs live. Polls close at 1800 GMT, with the first results expected before midnight.—AFP