Home > 1.3 Free suffrage > MONTENEGRO- Opinion on the Compatibility of the Existing Legislation Concerning the Organisation of Referendums with Applicable International Standards
 
 
 
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Paragraph 15
 

The freedom of voters to express their wishes implies that any question submitted to the electorate must be clear (not obscure or ambiguous); it must not be misleading; it must not suggest an answer; voters must answer the questions asked by yes, no or a blank vote.[6] The wording of the question(s) that would be used in a referendum in Montenegro is not yet known.  But in a draft referendum law on the state status of the Republic of Montenegro (dated 10 October 2001), the question then proposed was: “Do you want the Republic of Montenegro to be an independent state with full international and legal personality?” (Article 6). Such a question would have fulfilled the requirements relating to the question. In Section IV of this opinion, questions which arise as to who should be regarded as composing the electorate for purposes of the referendum will be examined.