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KEY FACTS ABOUT MONTENEGRO’S ELECTIONS
PODGORICA (Reuters) - The following are some
key facts on Montenegro's parliamentary election taking
place on Sunday.
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VOTERS:
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Close to 450,000
people are eligible to vote.
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PARLIAMENT:
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They will elect representatives
to a 77-seat parliament. The elections are
being held ahead of schedule as the ruling
coalition broke up over whether Montenegro
should move towards independence.
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PARTIES:
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Voters can choose
between 16 parties and coalitions.
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SYSTEM:
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Montenegro uses a
proportional voting system, with the proviso
that five seats are reserved for ethnic
Albanian areas. Parties or coalitions must
win at least three percent of the vote to
be represented in parliament.
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The main forces are:
- The pro-independence "Victory is Montenegro's"
coalition led by President Milo Djukanovic and made
up of his Democratic Party of Socialists and their partners
the Social Democrats.
- The anti-independence "Together for Yugoslavia"
bloc composed of the Socialist People's Party (SNP),
People's Party and Serb People's Party.
- The Liberal Alliance party, which has a strong pro-independence
stance and opposes even the loose new alliance of states
with Serbia which Djukanovic favours.
- The People's Socialist Party, a new hardline pro-Yugoslav
party led by Momir Bulatovic, a close ally of former
Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic.
LEADERS:
Opinion polls consistently show Djukanovic, 39, to be
the most popular politician in Montenegro. Once closely
associated with Milosevic, he broke away from his former
patron in the late 1990s and adopted a pro-Western stance.
Predrag Bulatovic, the 46-year-old leader of the biggest
opposition party the SNP, also enjoys considerable popularity.
He has steered the SNP away from its pro-Milosevic past,
causing a split with former party leader Momir Bulatovic
(no relation).
Momir Bulatovic, 45, is a former president of Montenegro
and former Yugoslav prime minister. He has stayed true
to his pro-Milosevic roots. The main battle for his
new party at this election is to overcome the three
percent barrier.
MONITORS:
More than 200 monitors from the Organisation for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will observe the election.
A Yugoslav non-government democracy watchdog is also
deploying monitors.
ISSUES:
Campaigning has been dominated by whether Montenegro
should pursue independence or stay within Yugoslavia.
OUTGOING PARLIAMENT:
The outgoing parliament was elected in May 1998 and
had 78 seats. The biggest group was the previous Djukanovic-led
coalition, with 42 deputies. The SNP had 29 seats, the
Liberal Alliance 5 and ethnic Albanian parties 2.
(Main sources: OSCE, Centre for Democracy and
Human Rights in Podgorica.)
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