Polling stations opened in Montenegro for presidential elections

In Montenegro, on Sunday, polling stations opened for voting in the presidential elections, which were the fourth since the country gained independence in 2006. According to the data of the local State Electoral Commission, 542,000 citizens of the Balkan republic have the right to vote.

Seven candidates are taking part in the electoral race, including the incumbent head of state Milo Djukanovic, who has been leading the country in various government posts for more than 30 years. In addition, the representative of the Europe Now movement Yakov Milatovic, one of the leaders of the pro-Serb Democratic Front Andrija Mandic, an independent candidate and popular blogger Jovan Radulovic, are also running for the presidency.

The leader of the “United Montenegro” Goran Danilovic, the former speaker of parliament and the chairman of the “Democratic Montenegro” Aleksa Becic also nominated their candidate for the post of head of state. Last on the ballot is Dragina Vuksanovic, representing the Montenegrin Social Democrats.

To win in the first round, candidates need to collect more than half of the votes, otherwise the two applicants who received the most support go to the second round of voting, which is scheduled for April 2.

Experts agree that the fate of the elections will be decided in the second round. Most polls show that incumbent President Milo Djukanovic will get there. His most likely opponent will be Yakov Milatovic or Andrija Mandic.

The traditionally high voter turnout for Montenegro is expected, which can reach 70 percent. Polling stations will close at 20:00 (22:00 Moscow time), and the first voting results will be announced around 21:00.

The President of Montenegro is elected by popular vote for a five-year term and can hold this post for no more than two consecutive terms. The head of state is endowed with mainly representative powers, but has a serious influence on the formation of the government.

Montenegro was swept by a wave of political instability after the parliamentary elections held on August 30, 2020, when opposition forces defeated the Democratic Party of Socialists, interrupting the thirty-year hegemony of its chairman Milo Djukanovic on the local political scene. At the same time, the disagreements of opposition political leaders, as well as the intervention of Western players, did not allow the formation of a stable government of the country.

Three days before the presidential elections, the incumbent head of state, Milo Djukanovic, dissolved the parliament and called early parliamentary elections for June 11. The parliamentary majority on Friday appealed to the Constitutional Court of the republic with a demand to suspend the president’s decision to dissolve parliament until a new head of state is elected.

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