Local Elections in Montenegro Stir Up Anger

Allies of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic accused the West of using financial aid to buy votes in Montenegro’s local elections, which were held Sunday in two cities and seen as a referendum on the republic’s pro-Western policies.

Voting reportedly went smoothly in Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital, and Herceg Novi. After polls closed, however, police had to separate pro- and anti-Milosevic groups in Podgorica as tensions rose.

First returns were not expected before early today. Anti-Milosevic groups, however, confident of victory in Podgorica, drove in celebration convoys throughout the city.

That provoked an angry response from their opponents, who hurled drink cans at their foes’ cars as they drove past the pro-Belgrade party’s offices.

Although the elections were for local posts, the two towns account for one-third of the registered voters. As a result, the elections provided the first electoral test for supporters of Montenegro’s pro-Western president, Milo Djukanovic.