Montenegro voters reward independence champion

PODGORICA - Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic easily won re-election on Sunday, repeating the success he scored in a May referendum that led the former Yugoslav republic to independence.

Initial projections showed his centre-left coalition had secured about 50 per cent of the vote and was close to clinching 41 seats in the 81-seat parliament, leaving three rival opposition groupings far behind with roughly 11 seats each.

"According to the results we have there isn't a shadow of doubt about the absolute victory of the coalition," said spokesman Predrag Sekulic of Djukanovic's Democratic Party of Socialists.

Fireworks exploded over the sleepy capital, Podgorica, and a few shots were fired in the air. But celebrations were relaxed and perfunctory, compared with the organised euphoria that greeted the Yes vote four months ago.

Djukanovic has been president or prime minister of the mountainous Adriatic coast republic of some 650,000 people for the last 15 years, the last eight of them increasingly devoted to his drive to end 90 years of partnership with Serbia.

Montenegro's rapid acceptance by the United Nations and the prospect of quicker European Union accession now that it is free of Serbia's political troubles, made his re-election predictable, analysts said.

"If these results hold up, we are looking at a convincing victory," said Srdjan Darmanovic, head of the CEDEM think tank.

Djukanovic had urged voters to not change horses in mid-stream at a crucial time in which Montenegro must complete its transition from socialist Yugoslav republic to democratic market economy.

"It will be necessary in the coming period to carry out comprehensive reforms to adapt our standards to those of the European Union," he said after casting his ballot.

"We will need to keep the interest of foreign investors without whose impetus economic development would be slower. We need stability to secure the Europeanisation of Montenegro."

Initial results showed that policy and pragmatism were still playing second fiddle to the ethnic card in a country where only 43 per cent call themselves Montenegrins, with 32 per cent considering themselves Serbs and the rest classifying themselves as Bosnians, Albanians or Muslims.

The main Serb party, which was against independence, appeared to have lost ground to the upstart technocratic party of a young economist. Bosnian and Albanian-majority areas overwhelmingly voted for local ethnic parties.

All opposition parties concentrated on the economy in their campaigns, accusing Djukanovic of corruption and nepotism.

But no one proposed reversing independence if elected.

- REUTERS