MONTENEGRO: MEDIA BLACKOUT AHEAD OF LOCAL ELECTIONS

PODGORICA, May 13 (Hina) - Montenegrin political parties on Sunday held their last election rallies ahead of a local vote, to take place on May 15. The elections are expected to help find a way out of the current political crisis, caused by President Milo Djukanovic's decision for Montenegro to stay in a reformed state union with Serbia. #L# A media blackout started last night at midnight, ahead of the local ballot, which will be held in all municipalities, except for the capital Podgorica and Herceg Novi, where local elections were held in June 2000. Djukanovic's coalition "To Live Better" won the last elections in 11 municipalities, while the coalition "For Yugoslavia" won the elections in ten and an alliance of Albanian parties in one municipality. This year's elections surpass their local character because their outcome is expected to greatly affect the future political scene in Montenegro. An early parliamentary election, held a year ago, saw a narrow win of Djukanovic's coalition against the pro-Serbian bloc "For Yugoslavia", so the minority government survived with the help of the Liberal Alliance. Following the signing of the Belgrade Agreement, which envisages a state union between Montenegro and Serbia, the Liberals withheld their support for the government. Social Democratic Party (SDP) ministers walked out of Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic's cabinet and the parliament could only declare the fall of the government. The upcoming local election will decide if the new government will be formed in line with agreement within the bloc advocating the country's sovereignty or in a new parliamentary election. The parliament has postponed a debate on a vote of no confidence in the government, which was proposed by the Liberal Alliance, until after the local election. President Djukanovic said that the decision on who would be appointed Prime Minister would be adopted late next week, after the local election. (hina) rml