Brussels - Montenegro moved a small step closer to becoming a candidate for European Union membership on Thursday as the bloc's member states agreed to send its application for official scrutiny.

Montenegro applied for official candidate status on December 15, but EU member states spent the next four months at loggerheads as they debated whether the small Balkan state - which broke away from union with Serbia in 2006 - should be granted it.

Podgorica - Apart from corruption allegations thrown at Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic's cabinet, the Montenegrin opposition also based its campaign for yesterday's snap poll on the prophecy of an economic meltdown.

The electorate did not buy the message and Djukanovic's bloc annihilated the opposition by winning an absolute majority to extend its administration into a third decade.

"The claims of imminent bankruptcy are utter nonsense," Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Igor Luksic told the German Press Agency dpa in Podgorica on Monday.

Podgorica  - Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic retained "the throne" by shattering opposition in Sunday's snap poll and winning an absolute majority to govern over the next four years, local newspapers said Monday.

"Djukanovic on the throne again," a headline in the daily Vijesti said Monday. Pobijeda described the election result as a "triumph of (Djukanovic's) coalition."

Podgorica  - Montenegro's parliamentary election Sunday was marked by low turnout, with just around a third of the country's 500,000 registered voters casting their ballots halfway through the day, the CDT monitoring agency reported in Podgorica, the nation's capital.

In voting in September 2006, 4 per cent more voters had shown up by 2 pm, six hours into the election. Polling stations are to close at 9 pm (1900 GMT).

Podgorica - Voting began in Montenegrin snap parliamentary elections Sunday, w

Podgorica - Montenegrins go to the polls Sunday to vote for the next parliament, with Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic apparently set to extend his administration into a third decade.

Djukanovic, 47, and his Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) called the election 18 months early to secure another four-year term saying they need it to implement reforms for closer ties with the European Union.