By Nick Thorpe BBC Belgrade correspondent

The tradesmen on the edge of the Zeleni Venac open air market in Belgrade are entreating the ladies of the city to purchase warm underwear, protection against the oncoming winter.

On the food counters, there are black grapes from Vojvodina, white ewe's cheese from the Sandzak, and honey, walnuts and other delights from Sumadija in the Serbian heartlands.

Things are a little better, but the economic situation is nearly the same

Zoran Serb refugee

The wares for sale have not changed much in the last decade, but the surrounding atmosphere of the city has.

People may not be any better off than they were under Slobodan Milosevic, but they are free at last of the wars, the endless street protests, and the general undercurrent of violence which marked the last years of his rule.

And on Sunday they have the chance to choose a new Serbian president.

Indicted leaders

The man now in that post, Milan Milutinovic, is an ally of former Yugoslav president Mr Milosevic.

Like Mr Milosevic, he has been indicted by the war crimes tribunal in The Hague for alleged war-crimes against ethnic Albanian citizens in Kosovo in 1999.

Once his term of office ends, and his diplomatic immunity expires, on 5 January, one of the first tasks of his successor may be to despatch him to join Mr Milosevic in The Hague.

Mr Labus seeks integration with the European Union

Vojislav Kostunica, a conservative lawyer committed to creating a new legal framework for Serbia, faces Miroljub Labus, a liberal economist with a bold vision of a new Serbia, co-operating with its neighbours, and integrated into the European Union.

"The Hague Tribunal" is not a phrase on the lips of either candidate in the run-off, there are no votes to be won by reminding people of fellow Serbs in the dock.

Progress made

A television debate between the two men last week left no clear winner - with Mr Kostunica concentrating on his desire for a new Serbian constitution, and Mr Labus repeating his own successes as deputy prime minister in the federal government, in charge of economic policy.

In the Zeleni Venac market, stall-holders acknowledge that some progress has been achieved in the two long years since Mr Milosevic fell from power.

Mr Kostunica is stress the need for a strong legal framework

"Things are a little better, but the economic situation is nearly the same," said Zoran, aged 31, a Serb refugee from Croatia, selling a small pile of round, smoked cheeses and lone bottle of olive oil from Montenegro.

He describes himself, with a laugh, as a smuggler, and says he cannot wait to leave Serbia, and join his friends in the United States.

A few streets away in the offices of the Nezavisnost Trade Union Federation, Darko Marinkovic, a specialist in industrial relations, is planning the future for those who stay.

"We have to teach people, to instruct people, to educate people in new point of view, in new way of life," he said. "How to invest money in different small jobs, how to open small businesses. How to work in productive, effective way."

Worker's unrest

Four hundred companies will be privatised by the end of the year in Serbia.

Workers who are made redundant receive redundancy money for each year they have worked there - but little advice on how to invest it.

Mr Marinkovic fears the money will be spent on everyday needs, and when it runs out, Serbia's rulers - whoever wins on Sunday - will face serious industrial unrest.

The population will accept the need for sacrifices, he believes, but only if the country's leaders explain why, and for how long, and when their standard of living will improve.