Montenegrins are electing their president
Photo: Olga Brajnovic / Podgorica – Montenegro
Montenegrins will elect their head of state on Sunday, in the second round of the presidential elections, which will be played between outgoing president Milo Djukanovic, a veteran on the political scene in this small Balkan country, and Jakov Milatovic, a political novice, press agencies inform international. The vote is decisive for the balance of power in this country with access to the Adriatic Sea, with the approach of the legislative elections called for June 11. Montenegro has been blocked for months after the overthrow, in August 2022, of the government, which has been managing the current problems of the country since then. Montenegro has been blocked for months after the overthrow, in August 2022, of the government, which has been managing the current problems of the country since then. Polling stations opened at 07:00 (05:00 GMT) and are due to close at 20:00 local time, with unofficial results expected during Sunday evening. In the first round two weeks ago, Milo Djukanovic, who has dominated the country’s political scene for three decades, received 35.4% of the vote, compared to 28.9% for Jakov Milatovic. There are no polls in Montenegro, but analysts estimate that the 36-year-old economist has a chance of winning because, according to them, he has a larger reserve of votes than his opponent.
He can also count on change-hungry voters fed up with Milo Djukanovic, 61, and his party, the Democratic Party of Socialists (PDS). The Democratic Party of Socialists (PDS) experienced a historic defeat in the legislative elections of 2020. Since then, the former Yugoslav republic has gone from one political crisis to another and experienced two falls of government. Milo Djukanovic came to power 29 years ago, supported by then-Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. But, as Serbia became a pariah on the international stage, Djukanovic knew how to distance himself from Belgrade. He approached the West and won Montenegro’s independence following a referendum in 2006. Under the leadership of Milo Djukanovic and his party, Montenegro joined NATO, became a candidate for membership in the European Union, and moved out of the Russian sphere of influence. But his detractors accuse him of widespread corruption and ties to organized crime, which Djukanovic strongly denies. Milo Djukanovic ran his election campaign questioning the sincerity of his opponent’s European anchoring and his “Europe Now” movement, accusing him at the same time of being vulnerable to Serbian interference. For years, Milo Djukanovic has sought to limit Serbia’s influence and consolidate a national identity separate from Montenegro—no easy task in a country where a quarter of its roughly 620,000 inhabitants identify as Serbs. During the final days of the campaign, he sought to appeal to minorities and the diaspora. Jakov Milatovic, a former employee of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), entered politics by becoming the minister of economic development in the first government formed after the legislative elections in 2020. Described as a populist by some, this father of three children became popular especially after he imposed a controversial economic program that practically doubled the minimum wage of Montenegrins to 450 euros. For many voters, the election should lead to better economic conditions in Montenegro, which, like other Balkan countries, is suffering from an exodus of young people. In any case, the president of the country mainly has a representative role, and the prime minister is the one who holds the main levers of power.
By Paul Bumman
