The winner of the first round of the presidential elections in Montenegro, held last Sunday, was the current head of the republic, Milo Djukanovic. In the second round on April 2, he will face one of the leaders of the new political force, the Europe Now movement, Yakov Milatovich. He is called the favorite of the Western embassies, but he was also supported by the leader of the Democratic Front, which is considered pro-Russian, Andrija Mandic. Finally, the new political alignment in the republic will be determined in June – following the results of early parliamentary elections. With details from Podgorica – Kommersant correspondent in the Balkans Gennady Sysoev.
Milo Djukanovic’s victory in the first round of the presidential election was predictable. The current president, who is called the ideologist of Montenegrin independence and the republic’s membership in NATO, is also the leader of the country’s largest political force – the Democratic Party of Socialists. Although she went into opposition in 2020 after 30 years in power, she enjoys the support of 30% of voters.
On Sunday, Milo Djukanovic got more than 35% and, not without reason, expects to win in the second round.
But the result of Yakov Milatovich, one of the leaders of the country’s new political force, the Europe Now movement – he scored about 29% and made it to the second round – turned out to be unexpected. Literally at the last moment, he became a presidential candidate instead of the chairman of the movement, Miloiko Spaic, who was convicted of concealing data on the presence of a second citizenship – Serbia and registration in this country.
Yes, and Yakov Milatovich entered politics only in 2020, becoming the Minister of Economics in the government of Zdravko Krivokapic, which the prime minister himself called the “cabinet of 12 apostles” – according to the number of ministers, most of which were proposed by the Serbian Orthodox Church. At the same time, Milojko Spajic and Jakov Milatovic launched a program to drastically increase wages and pensions by eliminating contributions to health care and other areas, which led to a surge in inflation and a shortage of medicines. While economists warn that the program is driving Montenegro into Greek bankruptcy, the populist measures have skyrocketed the popularity of the Europe Now movement and its leaders.
Yakov Milatovich is called the favorite of Western embassies.
This definition was also confirmed by an incident during the current campaign, when the candidate of Europe Now was met unfriendly in the historical capital of the republic, Cetinje. Then the ambassadors of the United States, Great Britain, France and the EU in Podgorica actively spoke out in defense of Yakov Milatovich – no other candidate received such attention from them.
Curiously, after the first round, Yakov Milatovic was also supported by the leader of the Democratic Front, which is considered pro-Serbian and pro-Russian, Andrija Mandic, who turned out to be only third on Sunday with 19%. It was the leader of the Democratic Front that was considered the main rival of the incumbent president in the current elections. In addition, he was actively supported by Serbia and its President Aleksandar Vučić.
According to the Montenegrin Electronic Media Agency, Andrija Mandic received during the current campaign twice as much airtime as his main competitors: 34% (Jakov Milatovic – 20%, Milo Djukanovic – 16%). This is not surprising, given that four out of five television channels with national broadcasts in Montenegro are owned by people from Serbia. In such a situation, the failure of the Democratic Front candidate in the elections was regarded by many as “a sensitive defeat of Aleksandar Vučić in Montenegro.”
It was also noteworthy in the Montenegrin elections that in the second round, which will be held on April 2, there were the leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Socialists and one of the leaders of the Europe Now movement, which is not represented at all in parliament. This, according to the majority of local politicians and experts, testifies in favor of holding early parliamentary elections in the republic as soon as possible.
So it looks like it will happen. Two days before the first round, President Milo Djukanovic dissolved parliament and scheduled early parliamentary elections for June 11, which will determine the new political alignment in the republic.