Montenegro tells Serbia goodbye

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Podgorica (Serbia-Montenegro): Independence backers declared victory at Montenegro's vote on secession from Serbia, although the unionists refused to concede defeat and the state electoral commission said official results will not be published before Monday.

Thousands of independence supporters flooded the streets of the capital Podgorica and other towns to celebrate an apparent victory of their bloc at the vote on Sunday on the Balkan republic's secession from much larger Serbia.

''I congratulate you on your state,'' pro-independence Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said hours after the polls closed. ''Today, the citizens of Montenegro voted to restore their statehood.''

''This is the most important day in Montenegro's recent history,'' Djukanovic said.

Outside the government building in Podgorica, thousands of supporters fired guns in the air in celebratory fire, and drove up and down the main street, honking the car horns and waving red-and-golden Montenegrin flags.

But tensions rose as the anti-independence faction refused to concede defeat, urging their opponents to return to their homes and wait for the official results. Predrag Bulatovic, leader of the unionist bloc acknowledged that the rivals were in the lead, but cautioned against hasty predictions.

''Every single vote is important,'' Bulatovic said. ''It is very important that the result of this referendum be verified in a proper manner.''

The EU-appointed head of the state electoral commission, Frantisek Lipka, also refused to make any formal announcements, saying he cannot give any estimates before all the votes are counted by mid-morning Monday.

Djukanovic insisted the pro-independence bloc has won 55.5 per cent of the votes, or some 40,000 votes more than their rivals.

The state-run television showed reports of celebrations all over this mountainous republic on the Adriatic Sea, whose population is just over 620,000 people. The TV congratulated the citizens on gaining independence, declaring Sunday ''the day for history.''

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