Montenegro - April 2023

Jakov Milatović of the Europe Now movement has won the presidential runoff election in Montenegro with 60 per cent of the vote, defeating longstanding incumbent Milo Đukanović, who has been a key actor in Montenegro’s politics for more than three decades, including as a prime minister and as a president.  Although the presidency is a largely ceremonial position in Montenegro, the results signal the boost of Milatović’s center-right movement ahead of June’s parliamentary elections. Milatović, a former economy minister, campaigned on an anti-corruption and EU membership platform. Milatović received support from parties close to Serbia, Russia and the Orthodox Church. Voter turnout was 70.1 per cent, a record high as compared to other previous presidential elections. The turnout in the 2018 elections was 63.9 per cent.

Sources: Euronews, Politico, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Deutsche Welle International IDEA, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights