The presidential elections in Montenegro had the current president and an economist, both Europeanists, as the most voted candidates. The candidate assumes that the nation wants a “modern” country policy.
The current president of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, and the economist Jakov Milatovic, both Europeanist politicians, were the most voted in the first round of the presidential elections this Sunday.
The next president of the country, a member of NATO and a candidate for membership of the European Union (EU), will be chosen between the two in the second round, on April 2.
Djukanovic, candidate of the Democratic Socialist Party (DPS), was the most voted with 35.3% of the votes, according to projections by the non-governmental organization CeMI, broadcast by public television RTCG, when 98.5% of the vote is counted. the votes.
Milatovic, from Europe Now! (ES), on the rise in Montenegro’s shaky political landscape, won 29.2% of the vote, according to projections.
Djukanovic said tonight that the result shows that citizens respect their “politics of a modern Montenegro” and that it is a good basis for the legislative elections, which will take place on June 11.
The presidential elections take place amid a political crisis in Montenegro and, according to analysts, show the strength of the parties representing the candidates in the early legislative elections.
The first round and what I project as a final result are a strong impulse so that, in the next parliamentary elections, we confirm the strength of a European Montenegro”, said Djukanovic.
Milatovic, 37, was economy minister as expert with experience in western countries in the first government formed after the fall of Djukanovic’s DPS in 2020.
He has a moderate and conciliatory speech and is considered by many as a favorite in the second round, since he could receive the support of the parties that together defeated the DPS three years ago.
The pro-Serbian and pro-Russian candidate of the Democratic Front (DF) Andrija Mandic, who in the presidential elections this Sunday was the third most votedWith 19%, he already announced his support for Milatovic in the second round.
After the results were announced, Milatovic said a “crucial step” had been taken towards victory on April 2 and to “return hope” to the citizens in the construction of a European country with new politicians in the Montenegrin scene.
Some 540,000 eligible citizens went to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president for a five-year term in Montenegro’s fourth presidential election since independence in 2006.
Political instability led to the fall of two governments since 2020the last in August.
Djukanovic, 61, who dominated the political scene for more than 30 years, served as prime minister for six terms and is currently serving his second term as president.
A runoff victory would be a huge boost for the DPS, in decline since 2020 when it lost power for the first time in three decades to a pro-European, pro-Russian coalition, but also marred by corruption scandals long in force.
Source: Observadora
