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Podgorica (Montenegro), March 19 (AP) – Voters in Montenegro went to the polls Sunday in a presidential election amid political turmoil and uncertainty over whether the small NATO member in the Balkans will cancel its bid to join the European Union, Or instead seek to join in improving relations with Serbia and Russia.
Analysts predict that the first round of Montenegro’s presidential election will produce no clear winner, with incumbent Milo Djukanovic, 61, facing one of several challengers in a runoff vote in two weeks’ time. one.
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While the presidency is largely ceremonial in Montenegro, the vote is seen as a key indicator of public opinion ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for June 11.
“I don’t intend to lose this election and I can be expected to lead my party in the parliamentary vote,” Djukanovic said after the vote. “I believe there will be a tiebreaker… We will have a fair duel. I am sure of my superiority.”
Djukanovic’s opponents include Andrea Mandic, leader of the staunchly pro-Serbia and pro-Russia Popular Front party, Yakov Milatovic, an economist at the newly formed EuroNow bloc, and former parliament speaker Alexa Becic.
Observers say Milatovic, who served in the government elected after the 2020 parliamentary vote but later split from the ruling coalition, may stand the best chance of making it into the runoff against Djukanovic.
Milatovic said after the vote that Djukanovic was a symbol of “the divisive policies of the past” and that the vote was crucial for a future in which Montenegro would be “richer, more just, more beautiful and more equal.”
Mandic said Djukanovic’s removal from the presidency was the last step toward a full-scale change of power.
Djukanovic and his Democratic Socialist Party led Montenegro’s independence from Serbia in 2006 and opposed Russia’s NATO membership in 2017.
A coalition dominated by parties seeking closer ties with Serbia and Russia toppled the DPS from power in 2020.
However, the new ruling coalition soon fell into disarray, stalling Montenegro’s path to the EU and creating a political stalemate.
The latest government lost a no-confidence vote in August but has been re-elected for months due to deadlock.
Djukanovic, who has served as president and prime minister several times over the past 30 years, has seen his popularity plummet. He now hopes to regain the trust of Montenegro’s roughly 540,000 eligible voters and help pave the way for his party to return to power.
Djukanovic described the presidential election as a choice between independent Montenegro and neighboring Serbia and the Russian-controlled country.
“Just a few years ago, no one could have imagined that we would again be fighting a decisive battle for the survival of Montenegro,” he told supporters. “Unfortunately, with the change of power two and a half years ago, the horizon of European values ​​was irresponsibly closed.”
Political chaos and stalled reforms in the country long seen as the next member to join the European Union have alarmed U.S. and EU officials who fear Russia may try to stir up trouble in the Balkans to divert attention from the war in Ukraine .
Montenegro’s 620,000 citizens remain deeply divided between supporters of Djukanovic’s policies and those who see themselves as Serbs and want Montenegro to be allied with Serbia and fellow Slavs Russia.
Mandic, of the Popular Front party accused of involvement in Russia’s failed 2016 coup attempt, sought to project himself as a conciliatory figure during the campaign, saying his main goal as president was to heal Montenegro’s divisions.
Economist Milatovic accused Djukanovic and his party of corruption, saying the president’s eventual ouster was necessary for Montenegro to move forward. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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