In a Yugoslav Republic, Fight for Presidency Goes On After Vote
The president-elect of Montenegro on Tuesday accused his vanquished foe, a supporter of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, of trying to provoke violence to overturn the vote.
This capital was tense but mostly peaceful as the two men maneuvered for control of Montenegro, a republic of 600,000 people that, along with Serbia, forms Yugoslavia. Supporters of both sides are well armed.
Behind the dispute is Milosevic, the Balkan region’s main power broker, who will lose authority and prestige if Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic assumes the Montenegrin presidency.
Momir Bulatovic, the defeated incumbent, has refused to recognize the result of Sunday’s runoff, charging it was unfair. He launched what he said would be daily protests to try to overturn Djukanovic’s victory. Djukanovic accused his foe of being a sore loser, of doing Milosevic’s bidding and of seeking to provoke violence.
Final results announced by the state election commission showed that Djukanovic beat Bulatovic by 174,745 votes to 169,257.
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