Montenegro
referendum on independence
21/05/2006
Sources: Government of Montenegro Web Site, Southeast European Times
Referendum summary
On May 21st, 2006 Montenegro held a referendum to determine if its citizens wished to achieve independence from the existing state union with Serbia-Montenegro. The vote ended in victory for the pro-independence campaign.
Montenegro's referendum commission officially confirmed the results on May 31st. Out of 230,661 voters who participated, 230,661 (55.5%) chose independence. A total of 185,002 (44.5%) voted against it. The overall turnout was 86.49%, out of which 85.75% were valid votes.
By agreement with the EU, the "yes" vote had to surpass 55% in order to be considered valid. It narrowly surpassed the threshold.
The Montenegrin Parliament made a formal declaration of independence on June 3rd, 2006. The EU, the United States, the People's Republic of China, Russia, and neighbouring Croatia all said they would respect the referendum results.