PM winner of Montenegro election

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Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic has been confirmed as the winner of Montenegro's first general election since independence was declared in May.

Mr Djukanovic's pro-Western coalition won 41 seats in the 81-seat assembly in Sunday's poll, election officials said.

The next biggest party in parliament is a new grouping of Serb parties, which won 12 seats.

Monitors from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe had said the vote was largely fair.

Mr Djukanovic had earlier claimed victory, saying his party won a majority in a "triumph of pro-European policy in Montenegro".

Rapid integration

The former Yugoslav republic decided in a referendum in May to break away from its union with Serbia, and the election was seen a test of Mr Djukanovic's popularity in the wake of that landmark move.

Slobodan Dragovic of the electoral commission confirmed the results on Tuesday on a turnout of 71.37%.

The main opposition, Predrag Bulatovic's pro-Serbian Socialist People's Party, won 11 seats compared with 26 in the former parliament.

A non-governmental organisation that became a political party - the Movement for Change - will take up 11 seats.

Mr Djukanovic's governing coalition has promised to seek rapid integration within the European Union and Nato, and to crack down on organised crime.