Parliamentary elections are underway in Montenegro: party with EU ambitions is likely to be the big winner The Netherlands installs free sunscreen dispensers

In Montenegro, citizens elected a new parliament on Sunday. After long-ruling pro-Western president Milo Djukanovic was voted out of office in April, early elections will decide the new distribution of power in the small Balkan and NATO country. According to electoral research institute Cemi in Podgorica, 28.1 percent of eligible voters had cast their vote at 1 p.m. That was 7.4 percentage points less than in the first round of the presidential election at the same time.

The new movement “Europe Now!” in the race, which is open to modernization and wants to lead the country into the EU, but at the same time leans more towards neighboring Serbia. With Jakov Milatovic she already delivers the president. In the second round of April, he had clearly beaten Djukanovic.

An absolute majority for “Europe Now!” was considered unlikely by polls. Top candidate Milojko Spajic will probably need partners for a coalition. The former presidential party DPS, from whose leadership Djukanovic withdrew following his electoral 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), operating under the name “For the Future of Montenegro”, could come third, according to polls. It remains open whether and in what form it will contribute to a government majority.

Since the collapse of Yugoslavia, Djukanovic has held various political positions in the former Yugoslav republic. He led them to independence in 2006 and to NATO in 2017. The country of 600,000 inhabitants has been negotiating accession to the European Union since 2012. At the same time, critics accused the longtime ruler of corruption and proximity to organized crime.

His fall from power began in 2020, when his DPS and their partners failed to secure a parliamentary majority in an election for the first time. Subsequent predominantly pro-Serbian governments proved unstable and early elections were therefore held. The last of these governments, led by Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic, has been in office as executive for just nine months after parliament lost confidence in her.

The Russian offensive war against Ukraine once again emphasizes the strategic importance of the Balkans – and of Montenegro on the Adriatic Sea. Neighboring and much larger Serbia does not support EU sanctions against Russia and remains economically and ideologically close to Moscow. At the same time, it aims to expand its influence in Montenegro through the Serbian Orthodox Church and pro-Serbian parties.

Under Djukanovic, the country followed a clearly pro-Western course. In October 2016, the year before the country joined NATO, a coup attempt by Serbian nationalists, coordinated by Russian intelligence officials, failed. The “Europe Now!” founders Milatovic and Spajic originally enjoyed the trust of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which has the most believers in Montenegro. After winning the presidential election, however, relatively clear signals emerged from the new party that it wanted to continue its pro-Western course.

The polls should close at 8 p.m. The first results were expected late Sunday evening. (sda/dpa)