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Both blocs confident of winning Montenegro's referendum

PODGORICA, May 18 (Hina) - Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic has said that the Montenegrin authorities do not think at all that there are chances for the outcome of the independence referendum to be in a grey zone, i.e between 50 and 55 percent of 'Yes' ballots.
PODGORICA, May 18 (Hina) - Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic has said that the Montenegrin authorities do not think at all that there are chances for the outcome of the independence referendum to be in a grey zone, i.e between 50 and 55 percent of 'Yes' ballots.

Both President Vujanovic and Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic are confident that the referendum on Sunday will succeed and that more than 55 percent of those who will go to the polls will vote for severing ties with the current state union with Serbia.

The European Union has helped to broker the main rules for the organisation of the referendum. The key rule is the requirement that 55 percent of votes need to be cast for independence. The other requirement is that at least 50 percent of registered voters have to turn out for the referendum.

The EU special envoy in charge of Montenegro's issue, Miroslav Lajcak, told Reuters on Wednesday that "it is an open race. Both sides believe they can win".

The head of the unionist bloc, Predrag Bulatovic, who is the chief of the pro-Serb Socialist People's Party (SNP), said on Thursday that "a divided Montenegro should be united after the referendum, regardless of its outcome". He expressed belief that the outcome would be Montenegro's staying in the state union.

The unionist bloc held its central rally in the capital of Podgorica on 16 May. The organisers said there had been up to 50,000 people, while the local media in Montenegro reported that about 15,000 people gathered for that event.

The bloc for the independence of Montenegro is planning to hold the main rally in Podgorica on Thursday evening a few hours before the ban on electioneering will take effect at midnight.

The media blackout will last until 2100 hrs on Sunday when polling stations will be closed.

The stations will be open at 0700 hrs on Sunday.

The head of the Montenegrin Commission in charge of organising the referendum, Frantisek Lipka, said that the referendum process had been prepared in the best possible way.

The referendum will be monitored by 3,390 observers. The commission has given accreditation to 619 foreign monitors and 2,771 local observers, Lipka said today.

So far, 547 reporters have been accredited to cover the vote. Of them 166 are foreigners and 381 are from the local media.

First partial returns from the polling stations are expected to be announced on Sunday evening.

The deadline for the release of final official results is 2100 hrs Monday.

The nongovernmental organisation Centre for Democratic Transition said on Thursday that it would use software from the last U.S. elections to collect returns from the polling stations and that it would publish the first results fifteen minutes after the closing of the poling stations, namely at 2115 hrs Sunday.

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