Montenegro's pro-independence president holds on to power

PODGORICA, Yugoslavia -- The pro-independence party of President Milo Djukanovic won a majority of seats in parliamentary elections in the Yugoslav republic of Montenegro on Sunday, according to unofficial results.

With more than 90 percent of the ballots counted, Djukanovic's Democratic Party of Socialists won 39 seats in the 75-seat parliament, independent election monitors said.

The main opposition challenger, the Socialist People's party, which advocates a continuation of the Yugoslav federation between Montenegro and Serbia, won only 30 seats.

The seat distribution was based on data provided by the Center for Free Elections and Democracy, whose findings have proved reliable in previous elections.

"We have won an absolute majority and we can form a government alone," Djukanovic told The Associated Press. But he said he would invite the ethnic Albanian parties to participate "so our government will reflect the multiethnic and multicultural diversity of Montenegro."

"Our victory is a signal for the international community that ... democracy is strong in Montenegro," he said.

Djukanovic's government collapsed earlier this year after it signed a tentative EU-brokered deal with Serbia on a loose union of the two republics currently making up Yugoslavia.

Challenged by rivals that include radical separatists as well as pro-Serbia groups, the president's party insists it knows best how to bring stability, prosperity and independence without angering the Western nations that fear new violence from a changed political landscape in the Balkans.

Along with the overriding issue of independence, voters also gave their verdict on Djukanovic's economic policies, which have yielded a measure of prosperity for the cash-strapped republic but also deepened the social divide.

"Montenegro needs a stable government and to continue on its path toward Europe," Djukanovic said before the results, referring to his pledge that Montenegro will join the European Union by 2010.

Under the deal signed with Serbia in March, the two republics will share a seat at the United Nations and a restricted federal administration with a common defense and foreign policy. After three years, either republic can vote to break away.

The agreement went too far for pro-Yugoslav politicians and not far enough for supporters of outright independence. Despite completely opposite views, the two factions teamed up in May to bring down the Djukanovic government, which they accuse of corruption.

Compared to relative indifference in Serbia on the issue, the discord among Montenegrins has effectively stalled implementation of the EU-brokered deal. It was hoped the early parliamentary elections would resolve the deadlock.

"I hope that these elections will help decrease tensions and bring an end to hatred and divisions here," said Predrag Bulatovic, the leader of the Socialist People's Party and of the pro-Yugoslav Coalition for Change, which has vowed to honor the EU-mediated accord and work toward better relations with Serbia.

In the outgoing parliament, six Liberal deputies played the role of king-maker by providing Djukanovic with a majority until they withdrew their support in May, precipitating the early vote.