SN543:Montenegro slams EU's referendum threshold

 

Montenegro slams EU's referendum threshold

21.02.2006 - 18:09 CET | By Ekrem Krasniqi

Montenegro says the EU threshold of 55 percent for its independence referendum is undemocratic and could provoke instability, Balkans news agency DTT-NET.COM writes.

"The formula proposed by the EU harms the basic democratic principle that each vote should have the same democratic value," Montenegran prime minister Milo Djukanovic said at the Crans Montana economic forum in Przn, Montenegro, on Monday (20 February).

"The decision belongs to the majority and not the minority. The EU's formula contains a virus which is dangerous to the stability of society when it comes to the implementation of the results," he added.

Montenegro is set to hold the vote on whether to leave the Serbia-Montenegro alliance in April or May, with pro-independence campaigners led by Mr Djukanovic saying that a majority of 25 to 40 percent should be enough for the results to stand.

Serbian-led opposition parties favour a figure of 50 percent or above, with recent opinion polls showing that 41 percent support independence while 32 percent are against.

The Montenegrin law on referendums states that the decision is to be taken by a majority of citizens eligible to vote, but doesn't fix any exact figure.

Kosovo first round inconclusive
Serbia is facing the prospect of losing two territories this year, with UN-led talks currently under way in Vienna on the future status of Kosovo.

The talks have so far focussed on creating Serb-run municipalities in the majority ethnic-Albanian province, under UN protection since 1999, when Serb forces led by Slobodan Milosevic carried out attacks on Albanian communities.

Serb negotiators have argued the quasi-autonomous units are needed to safeguard the civil liberties of ethnic Serbs, but Kosovan Albanians attacked the plan as being based on a "territorial principle, division of communities and non-functional local institutions."

The talks, currently in their first round, are not expected to produce quick results, but the international community, led by the UK, France, Germany, Italy Russia and the US, is pushing for agreement on Kosovo's status by the end of the year.

http://euobserver.com/9/20959

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