Halfway there

For those of you who’ve forgotten, Montenegro is holding its referendum on independece today, as we speak actually. Polls are open for about 30 more minutes and reports indicate the necessary voter turnout was reached within the first few hours. All we can do now is wait.

Montenegro referendum easily meets turnout rule

PODGORICA, Serbia and Montenegro (Reuters) – Montenegrin voters turned out in strength on Sunday for a referendum on whether to dissolve their union with Serbia and become Europe’s newest independent state.The required 50 percent turnout was reached in the first few hours of voting. Under criteria agreed with the European Union, over 55 percent of voters must say “Yes” for independence to be uncontested. Voting was due to end at 9 p.m. (1900 GMT).

There was little doubt ahead of the poll that the pro-independence camp would emerge stronger but the question was whether the “No” vote could deprive them of the 55 percent majority. “This is a big day for Montenegro,” said pro-independence champion Milo Djukanovic, the country’s prime minister and former president. “Its answer to the referendum question will open the doors to Euro-Atlantic integration.”

No doubt people from Nagorno-Karbagh, Chechnya, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and others, not to mention Bosnians and Kosovars next door, are watching and waiting for a precedent. We’ll see.