The numbers
| Date | 21 May 2006 |
| Turnout | 86.5% |
| For independence | 55.5% |
| Threshold required | 55% |
| Margin over the threshold | About 2,300 votes |
| Independence declared | 3 June 2006 |
| UN membership | 28 June 2006 |
The 55 per cent threshold was not Montenegro's idea. It was set by the European Union as a condition for recognising the result — a compromise between the pro-independence side, who wanted a simple majority, and Belgrade, who wanted a higher bar. Both sides accepted it and then spent the campaign arguing about whether it was fair.
What came before
Montenegro had been independent before — recognised at the Congress of Berlin in 1878, a kingdom from 1910, and then absorbed into the new Yugoslav state in 1918 in circumstances that are still argued about. The Podgorica Assembly that voted for union is regarded by one side as a legitimate parliament and by the other as a stitch-up.
After 1992 Montenegro remained with Serbia in the rump Yugoslavia, and from 2003 in a loose State Union of Serbia and Montenegro that had a three-year exit clause built into it. 2006 was that clause being used.
Why the margin still matters
A country that decided its own existence by half a percentage point does not have a settled national consensus, and Montenegro's politics have run along that line ever since.
- Language — whether it is Montenegrin or Serbian is a live question with a legal answer and a contested social one
- Church — the split between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Montenegrin Orthodox Church has produced street protests within the last few years
- Identity in the census — a substantial share of citizens declare themselves Serb rather than Montenegrin
- Foreign policy — NATO membership in 2017 was pushed through parliament rather than by referendum, deliberately
What changed after 2006
Independence, then NATO in 2017, and EU accession talks that have been running since 2012 and are the furthest advanced of any candidate in the region. The euro was already in use — adopted unilaterally in 2002 and never negotiated with Brussels.
Economically the shift was towards tourism and foreign property investment, which is visible on the coast in the form of everything built after about 2008.
Where to see the history
- Cetinje — the old royal capital, with King Nikola's palace and the embassies of the powers that recognised Montenegro in 1878
- The Njegoš mausoleum on Lovćen, and the argument about whether it should have replaced his chapel
- Podgorica's Ribnica bridge and old town, what is left of the pre-war city after the bombing of 1944
- The National Museum in Cetinje, which holds the state's own account of all of this
