A total of 484,718 eligible voters will be given a choice of "yes" or "no" to the referendum question -- Do you want the Republic of Montenegro to be an independent state with a full international legal personality?
Voting will take place at 1,020 polling stations and the decision on independence will be valid if 55 per cent of the constituents vote in favour of it.
The referendum will be carried out by the Republic Commission which is headed, at the suggestion of the European Union, by Slovak diplomat Frantisek Lipka, who said everything was ready for voting in accordance with the law and European democratic regulations.
The sovereignist bloc is led by Democratic Party of Socialists leader and Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, while the unionist bloc is led by Predrag Bulatovic, the leader od the strongest opposition Socialist People's Party.
Both sides are confident of winning. Analysts give a certain advantage to the sovereignists.
The Election Commission has accredited over 3,500 observers and about 1,000 reporters for the referendum.
The chief of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Monitoring Mission, Juergen Grunet, said the campaign and the preparations for the referendum were peaceful. He added media coverage was not perfect, but was nonetheless acceptable.
Lipka said official results would be released on Monday, May 22, while the Democratic Transition Centre said it would release the first unofficial results a half hour after polling stations close down at nine pm.