Montenegro swings towards independence

[columbusdem]

Montenegro swings towards independence

http://euobserver.com/9/21665

The Balkan republic of Montenegro is set to become Europe's newest state with initial results showing it voted ‘yes' to independence on Sunday, which could dissolve its union with neighbouring Serbia.

On Monday morning (22 May) unofficial results show that 55.3 percent voted in favour and 44.6 voted against secession from Serbia.


55.3 percent is just above the threshold for secession to be legitimate according to EU-imposed standards.

88 percent of Montenegrins turned out to vote at the around 1100 ballot stations, the highest turnout since the country's first democratic elections in the 1990s.

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. BBC: Montenegro chooses independence

Montenegro has narrowly voted for independence from its union with Serbia, near-complete results say.

The head of the country's electoral commission said that 55.4% of voters had voted to secede from Serbia, just above the 55% required for victory.
...
However, the electoral commission said 25,000 votes were still to be counted.
...
The country has a population of fewer than 700,000 people, so the vote of the diaspora was considered as crucial by both camps.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5003220.stm

So that's maybe 5% of votes still left to count - theoretically the result could change, if those votes are from regions that aren't typical.

[Scurrilous]

2. Montenegro confirms independence

<snip>

"Montenegro's state electoral commission today confirmed the republic would split from Serbia and establish a new independent Balkan state.

Fratisek Lipka, the EU-appointed head of the commission, said the almost complete results of a referendum on seceding from Serbia showed 55.4% had voted for Montenegro to become independent.

The EU set a 55% minimum of "Yes" votes for the independence referendum to be considered valid.

The results of Sunday's referendum - which attracted a turnout of almost 90% - effectively killed off what remains of Yugoslavia, leaving Serbia facing the results of 15 years of Yugoslav disintegration."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/serbia/article/0,,1780582,00.html

[rfkrfk]

3. 55% threshold ... the EU decides this?

WTF?

the EU's jurisdiction is what?

what's next?
other non-member's tax rates?
other non-member's food-lableing laws?

[ButterflyBlood]

4. Well Serbia & Montenegro have been seeking EU membership

The EU probably would've had no involvement without that issue.

This result makes it easier for an independent Montenegro to join, as they don't have the baggage of having to hand over war criminals that the EU has demanded before any talks on membership can begin. This also seperates them from the Kosovo issue, another hurdle.

[One Honest Guy]

5. EU membership? Maybe in 2040, right after Turkey.

Serbs are not going to like this at all. A rather obscure Slovenian writer and intellectual made a prediction back in early 1990s that Serbia would end up smaller than Luxembourg if it continued with its expansionist wars. Here we are nearly 20 years later, and look what's happening.

By the way, there is lot of talk about parts of Vojvodina seceding as well in the next 10-15 years. Maybe sooner. So far they are asking for more autonomy and less meddling from Belgrade. (By the way, for those who don't know, Vojvodina is another autonomous province of Serbia, much like Kosovo was) Under the rule of Milosevic both Vojvodina and Kosovo lost most of their autonomy. Vojvodina is home to large non-Serb minority groups, including Hungarians, Bulgarians, Romanians, Roma, you name it. They have been treated badly by Serbian majority ever since the breakup of the Yugoslavia. Racist graffiti, attacks, and even disappearances are not uncommon.