(12 Jun 2000) Serbo-Croat/Nat
XFA
Supporters of Montenegro's pro-Western leadership are claiming victory in the local elections in the capital Podgorica, but backers of Slobodan Milosevic insist they are winning in the town of Herceg Novi.
Sunday's vote was seen as a referendum on the republic's pro-Western policies.
Montenegro is the smaller of the two republics which form Yugoslavia.
No official results were available from the election in the two cities, which together form about one-third of the small republic's 600-thousand people.
The Montenegrin election commission early on Monday said it had only counted 28 percent of the ballots in Podgorica and claimed to have no figures from Herceg Novi.
But supporters of Montenegro's pro-Western President, Milo Djukanovic, said their own poll watchers reported they had won 28 of the 54 municipal posts in Podgorica.
According to the claims, Djukanovic's forces would increase their seats in the municipal government by one seat, from 27 to 28.
In the previous city government, Djukanovic needed a coalition with the Liberals, who held four seats, to govern Podgorica.
The Liberal Party bolted the coalition two months ago, prompting the new elections.
Now, Djukanovic's party appears to hold a majority on its own.
Followers of Milosevic's ally, Yugoslav Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic, claimed they secured 19 of the 35 seats in Herceg Novi.
Neither side contradicted claims of the other.
If the official count confirms the claims, the outcome would show the deep divisions between those who favour looser ties with Belgrade - if not outright independence - and those who want Montenegro to remain firmly a part of Milosevic's Yugoslavia.
SOUNDBITE: (Serbo-Croat)
"Everything that we were expecting is confirmed now. Our policies gain more and more supporters every day. Every day we ensure that Montenegro is on the way of democracy and European emancipation. There is no question of who Montenegro belongs to. Milosevic's politics are dying in Montenegro."
SUPER CAPTION: Milo Djukanovic, President of Montenegro
The president urged his followers not to be disheartened by their projected loss in Herceg Novi, adding "Milosevic's policies are on their deathbed."
Voting in the two towns went smoothly with no reports of incidents.
However, hours after the polls closed, helmeted police had to separate pro-and anti-Milosevic groups in Podgorica as tensions rose before first result reports.
Anti-Milosevic groups, confident of their victory in Podgorica, drove in convoys throughout the city, waving flags, honking horns in celebration, clapping and cheering outside their headquarters.
That provoked an angry response from their opponents, who hurled drink cans at their rivals' cars as they drove past the headquarters of the pro-Belgrade party where about 500 supporters of Milosevic had gathered.
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