Voters of Montenegro cast their ballots in a referendum on Sunday, starting from 8 a.m. local time (0600 GMT) to decide whether to remain in the state union of Serbia-Montenegro or regain its independence after 88 years.

According to the Republic Referendum Commission in Montenegro, there are 484,718 voters eligible to cast their ballots in the referendum. The polling stations will be closed at 9 p.m. (1900 GMT), with preliminary results expected on Sunday night and official results on Monday.

In the referendum, Montenegrin voters will respond with a "Yes" or a "No" to the question: "Do you want Montenegro to be an independent state with full international and legal legitimacy?"

Under conditions mediated by the European Union, the independence will be valid only when the referendum passes by a threshold of 55 percent with a turnout of at least half of the mountainous republic's registered voters.

Serbia-Montenegro, which was renamed from the Yugoslav federal republic in February 2003, is a loose union with only limited ministries of foreign affairs, defense and human rights. The two republics have different laws, customs, currencies and border services.

Recent surveys by major Montenegrin research agencies put the pro-independence bloc slightly above that threshold with more than 56 percent of voters favoring secession. But the pro-union bloc believes they will prevail as they have secured 200,000 votes on their side.

At least 3,400 foreign and local observers are expected to monitor the referendum.

Source: Xinhua