- The new, reform-oriented movement «Europe Now!» won the early parliamentary elections in Montenegro.
- After counting almost all polling stations, she received 26 percent of the votes and thus 24 out of 81 mandates.
- The second strongest force was the former presidential party DPS. She got 23 percent of the votes.
After the long-ruling pro-Western President Milo Djukanovic was voted out of office in April and the rapid rise of «Europe Now!» (PES) is now redistributing power in the small Balkan and NATO country. The figures were published by the election research institute CDT in Podgorica.
The only 35-year-old PES top candidate Milojko Spajic laid claim to the office of prime minister on the night of the election. “It is obvious that we will form the new pro-European government,” he said at a media conference in Podgorica.
Rule with a partner
In order to govern in the future, Spajic will need partners. Two pro-Serbian electoral alliances as well as the ethnic group parties of the Bosniaks, Albanians and Croats would probably be possible. Spajic has ruled out a coalition with the DPS, which had determined politics in Montenegro for a good 30 years under Djukanovic.
«Europe Now!» was selected as the favourite. The new party is happy to modernize and wants to lead the country into the EU. At the same time, however, it also stands for a stronger affinity with neighboring Serbia.
PES also provides the President
With Jakov Milatovic (36) she is already the new head of state. In the presidential election in April, he had clearly beaten Djukanovic. This led the country to independence from Serbia in 2006 and to NATO in 2017. At the same time, he was criticized for corruption and mismanagement.
According to the election researchers, turnout was 56 percent. It was well below expectations.
Montenegro is largely dependent on tourism revenue. The country with around 620,000 inhabitants is one of the six Western Balkan countries that are striving to join the EU. The population is divided: while members of one population group see themselves as Montenegrins, others see themselves as Serbs.
Djukanovic’s fall from power begins in 2020
Since the collapse of Yugoslavia, Djukanovic has held various positions in politics in the former Yugoslav republic. The long-term ruler Djukanovic’s fall from power began in 2020, when his DPS and its partners failed to gain a parliamentary majority in elections for the first time.
The subsequent mostly pro-Serbian governments proved to be unstable, which is why early elections are now being held.