Europe Now deputy director Milatovic, 37, who has been educated in the West, promised voters in his campaign to fight corruption, improve living standards and strengthen ties with the European Union and neighboring Serbia.
“We have been waiting for this evening for more than 30 years. I wish you a happy victory,” Milatovic said as he greeted supporters of his centre-right Europe Today movement at the party headquarters in Podgorica.
“In the next five years, we will bring Montenegro into the European Union,” he said.
Supporters of former Economy Minister of Montenegro Yakov Milatovich
Cheering supporters of Milatovic marched through the center of the capital Podgorica to the sound of car horns, set off fireworks or fired gunshots into the air.
Former communist Djukanovic, 61, has been in power in Montenegro as president or prime minister for 33 years since the dissolution of federal Yugoslavia. Following the election results, he admitted defeat to Milatovich.
“Montenegro has made its choice. I respect this choice and congratulate Jakov Milatovic,” Djukanovic told supporters at his Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) headquarters in Podgorica.
Djukanovic will remain in office until the official transfer of power on May 21.
Milatovic won 60.1% of the vote and Djukanovic 39.9%, the Montenegrin Monitoring and Research Center (CEMI) said based on the results of a statistical sample of the votes cast.
According to a poll by the Center for Democratic Transformation (CDT), Milatović was in the lead with 56.9% of the vote.
According to the CEMI, the participation rate was approximately 70%.
The country’s electoral commission is expected to announce the official results in the coming days after the complaints procedure is completed.
Under Djukanovic’s rule, Montenegro, a candidate for European Union membership, gained independence from Serbia in 2006 and joined NATO in 2017.
Opponents accuse Đukanović and his party of corruption, links to organized crime and ruling the country as their own fiefdom – allegations they deny.
“Tonight you saw the strength of a united Montenegro. That is why (the victory) is so big and historic, tonight we said goodbye to crime and corruption in Montenegro,” Milatovic said. .
The elections came after a year of political instability, when two governments that came to power following 2020 protests backed by the powerful Serbian Orthodox Church were ousted after votes of no confidence.
“People have made it clear that they want change and that the new political elite should pay more attention to their (people’s) problems and needs,” said Milos Besic, a political science professor at the University of Belgrade.
On March 16, Đukanović dissolved parliament and called a snap election for June 11. Although the presidency in Montenegro is largely ceremonial, a victory in the presidential election could improve the party’s chances of winning the June parliamentary elections.
Montenegro’s economy, with its scenic coastline along the Adriatic Sea, is highly dependent on revenue generated from tourism. In the country, in the recent past, there have been strong divisions between those who identify as Montenegrins and those who consider themselves as Serbs, opposing the independence of the country.
The country joined NATO after a 2016 coup attempt, for which the Djukanovic government blamed Russian agents and Serbian nationalists. Moscow called such statements absurd. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Montenegro joined EU sanctions against Moscow and expelled a number of Russian diplomats. The Kremlin responded by adding Montenegro to the list of hostile states.
