71.   Fifty-two deputies voted in support of him and one abstained, said parliamentary speaker Raymond Langenderies.

72.   Twenty-one Islamic, leftwing and Arab nationalist deputies voted against.

73.   Until now deputies have voted their salary level every year.

74.   Meanwhile in France, deputies voted Wednesday to postpone ratification of an EU partnership accord with Belarus because of the crisis.

75.   No deputies voted against Persson, who was applauded by the parliament.

76.   One hundred and seven deputies voted against, and six handed in blank ballot papers.

77.   Once a candidate for premier is named, the deputies will vote on the choice in a ballot scheduled to take place in the last half of April.

78.   Russian deputies voted Wednesday to unilaterally lift UN economic sanctions against Belgrade and condemned NATO airstrikes in Bosnia against Bosnian Serbs, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.

79.   Russian deputies voted Friday to postpone ratification of an international treaty banning chemical weapons until late this year.

80.   Russian deputies voted in October in favour of a unilateral lifting of sanctions against Montenegro and Serbia, despite the fact that Yeltsin vetoed a similar bill in September.