2023-06-11 05:44:29
Early parliamentary elections began in Montenegro on Sunday. 15 parties and alliances are fighting for 81 seats in parliament. Around 543,000 eligible voters have been able to vote since 7 a.m. The voting closes at 8 p.m., the first results are expected on Monday night. The “Europe Now” movement, which was formed last year, is considered the favourite. According to polls, the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPs), which governed without interruption between 1991 and the end of 2020, is behind.
The election campaign was quiet until the end. However, a letter sent to Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic by alleged cryptocurrency scammer Do Kwon, who has been in a Podgorica prison since March 23, caused a stir in the last week before the election. The content was not published, but according to media reports it is said to incriminate the chairman of “Europe Now”, Milojko Spajic, whose party, however, rejected the allegations.
Whether it was just a campaign aimed at taking votes away from the favorite remains to be seen. The public prosecutor’s office has not yet commented on the letter.
The party “Europe Now” claims to be willing to modernize. She wants to lead the country into the EU, but at the same time leans more closely on neighboring Serbia. However, an absolute majority for “Europe now” is considered unlikely. Lead candidate Spajic will probably need partners for a coalition. The former presidential party DPS, from whose leadership Milo Djukanovic withdrew following his election defeat, is likely to be the second strongest force. “Europe Now!” does not see them as potential coalition partners for the time being.
The pro-Serbian and pro-Russian Democratic Front (DF), running under the name “For the Future of Montenegro,” might come third, according to the polls. It remains open whether and in what form it will contribute to a future government majority.
Since the collapse of Yugoslavia, Djukanovic has held various positions in politics in the former Yugoslav republic. He led them to independence in 2006 and to NATO in 2017. The country with 600,000 inhabitants has been negotiating accession to the European Union (EU) since 2012.
The long-term ruler Djukanovic’s loss of 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 were held.
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