Montenegro election: Ruling party ahead but lacks majority

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Supporters of whoever wins have been urged to celebrate indoors

Partial results in the Montenegrin election suggest the prime minister"s party will win the most seats but fall short of a majority.

The pro-Western party is set to win about 40% of the votes and will have to form a coalition.

Milo Djukanovic had presented the vote as a choice between becoming an EU and Nato member or a "Russian colony".

The interior minister has urged supporters of whoever wins to celebrate indoors rather than on the streets.

The warning follows the arrest of 20 Serb paramilitaries suspected of planning attacks.

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Image copyright AP

Image caption The arrested Serbs have been charged with terror offences

Prosecutors said the group may have been planning to kidnap Mr Djukanovic, who has been in charge for a quarter of a century.

Serbia"s former special forces commander, Bratislav Dikic, who was removed from the post in 2013 because of alleged criminal activities, was reported to be among those arrested.

The men had been charged with terror offences and one Serb was still on the run, Montenegro"s police chief said.

But opposition Democratic Front leader Andrija Mandic said the announcement was "gross propaganda".

Image copyright EPA

Image caption Mr Djukanovic wants to take Montenegro into Nato

Image copyright AFP/Getty

Image caption Mr Mandic accused the authorities of "propaganda"

The main opposition party, the pro-Russian Democratic Front Alliance, is forecast to win just over 20% of the votes. Another, more moderate, opposition grouping stands at about 11%.

Many Montenegrins are unhappy that Mr Djukanovic is taking the country into Nato.

They remain angry that Nato bombed Serbia and Montenegro in 1999 as part of a strategy to halt the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanians in Serbia"s then southern province of Kosovo.

The opposition accuses Mr Djukanovic of corruption and cronyism, which he denies. He accuses them of receiving funding from Moscow, which they deny.

The country has also seen an influx of Russian money, homebuyers and tourists since splitting from Serbia in 2006.

Original Article

Montenegro election: Ruling party ahead but lacks majority
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