REFERENDUM IN MONTENERGO: NEW STATE TO APPEAR IN EUROPE

PanARMENIAN.Net
22.05.2006 19:26 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The head of the country’s electoral commission said
55.4% of voters had voted to secede from Serbia, just above the 55%
required for victory.

The result is set to erase the last vestige of the former
Yugoslavia. The question of independence has deeply divided Montenegro,
with its opponents arguing it will damage economic, family and
political ties with Serbia. “Tonight, with the majority decision by
the citizens of Montenegro, the independence of the country has been
renewed,” said Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic. EU foreign policy
chief Javier Solana commended the conduct of the poll and said he
would respect the result.

Electoral Commission Chairman Frantisek Lipka said 25,000 votes,
about 5% of the total, were still to be counted, but he said they were
not expected to affect the outcome. Final results will be announced
at 19:00 local time (17:00 GMT). One European Parliament election
observer, Robert Evans, said everything in the vote had satisfied
their requirements, reported BBC.