President's coalition wins crucial Montenegrin poll
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Your support makes all the difference.A coalition led by President Milo Djukanovic's Democratic Party of Socialists won the parliamentary elections in the Yugoslav republic of Montenegro yesterday.
According to the two leading monitoring groups, the coalition won 39 of the 75 seats in the parliament. Its main opponent, the pro-Yugoslav bloc, Together for Changes, won 30 seats, while four went to the small Liberal Alliance and two to a coalition of parties of ethnic Albanians. The turn-out was very high, at 77.2 per cent. There are 455,000 voters in Montenegro.
The monitoring groups released their results two hours after the polling stations closed at 9pm. Official results are to be released today.
Zoran Lucic, an analyst, said: "There is a possibility of another small party entering the parliament, but that will not change the final distribution of mandates, meaning that the coalition led by Mr Djukanovic's DPS will have a clear majority in the parliament".
Srdjan Darmanovic, another analyst, added: "This means that Montenegro will have a stable government led by DPS and a crucial influence on the future of the federal Yugoslav state."
The early parliamentary elections in Montenegro were called after the previous DPS-led government collapsed when a coalition partner walked off.
The parliamentary elections were also viewed by many as a litmus test for the political future of President Djukanovic. He is seeking another term at the presidential post in the elections due on 22 December. With the parliamentary victory of his party, Mr Djukanovic is almost certainly going to win the second presidential term.
The question remains what, if anything, will remain of the crumbling Yugoslav federation.
Montenegro and Serbia are the only republics that have remained in Yugoslavia since the violent collapse of the old socialist federation during the rule of Slobodan Milosevic, now standing trial at the War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague.
Mr Djukanovic will surely have enough room to seek more autonomy in the joint Yugoslav state or easily continue his independence drive, which had softened after he signed an EU-sponsored agreement with Belgrade last March.
Many thought that the deal would cost Mr Djukanovic dearly. There was a tide of opinion among Montenegrins that there was no need to cut ties with Serbia after Mr Milosevic was ousted.
The deal seeks to create a loose union with Serbia, leaving most powers in the hands of the republics. It puts off the possibility of independence for Montenegro until 2005, while the joint state with Serbia also remains an option – depending on the will of Montenegrins at the time.
Their win in yesterday's elections gives Mr Djukanovic hope that he can deliver his old promise of an independent Montenegro.
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