(23 Apr 2001) CLIENTS NOTE UPDATED NAME FOR OSCE SPOKESMAN
Podgorica, Montenegro
22 April 2001
1. Thousands of people cheering Djukanovic
2. Djukanovic with supporters
23 April 2001
3. Wide OSCE press conference
4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ambasssador Gerard Stoudman, OSCE representative - "In other words, there is no clear mandate either for or against anything, but a very clear split." (VOICE OF TRANSLATOR)."This should be understood both as a clear message both here by those who are in a hurry to have a referendum on independence, but also in Belgrade, that there is a need for serious discussion in good faith to resolve the outstanding issues."
5. Street scene
6. News stand
7. Newspaper headlines on election and Djukanovic
8. SOUNDBITE: (Serbo Croat) VOX POP "I am pleased with the election result and happy that Djukanovic has won again."
9. Street scene
10. SOUNDBITE: (Serbo Croat) VOX POP " I think the election was fraudulent. Djukanovic's party was stealing votes. This is in order to defeat people who are supporting the Yugoslav federation." (Serbia and Montenegro)
11. Street scene
12. SOUNDBITE: (English) Srdjan Darmanovic, political analyst "I don't see how Djukanovic cannot proceed towards a kind of independence referendum. On the other side, there will be strong requests from the West to slow down. Also Belgrade has not many reasons for satisfaction because things remain unclear, as a country it's not defined. So it's a kind of stalemate, I may say."
13. Cutaway
14. SOUNDBITE: (English) Lisa Maclean, Programme Director, National Democratic Institute "I don't really think the election results are going to impact the support that is given to the government here. Because, the way I understand it, the support to the government here, it's support for development that's needed whether it's in the federation or whether it's an independent country."
15. Podgorica street scene
STORYLINE:
According to near-final vote count results published on Monday, Montenegro's pro-independence movement won only a slim election victory in parliamentary elections.
Election watchers say that the slim margin of victory by the pro-independence bloc may temper the group's plans to split the junior republic away from Yugoslavia.
With 98 percent of vote counted, secessionists led by President Milo Djukanovic had 42 percent of the vote, compared to 40.6 percent for the anti-independence bloc.
In Belgrade, capital of Yugoslavia and Serbia, Yugoslav leaders said they hoped Djukanovic would take the results as a signal to back off independence.
In Sunday's ballot, the Djukanovic's "Victory Belongs to Montenegro" coalition's slight majority falls short of the strong showing most opinion polls predicted.
According to leading political analyst Srdjan Darmanovic, Djukanovic's party actually lost votes.
Speaking to the Associated Press in Podgorica, Darmanovic said Djukanovic's was not in a position to claim victory.
Nor could the president claim a mandate to lead Montenegro to independence, Darmanovic said.
Djukanovic intends to go ahead with a planned referendum on independence.
It may, however, it may be delayed from June to July.
The West has repeatedly warned that if Montenegro splits away, separatists in neighboring Kosovo and Macedonia, and Serbia itself, would be encouraged, leading to further Balkan tensions.
However Lisa Maclean, Programme Director for the National Democratic Institute does not believe Western support for Montenegro will end, if the population votes for independence.
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