Djukanovic Maintains Power in Montenegro Elections
Montegro, recently invited to NATO, plays curious role in Balkans. Wikipedia Commons
Montenegrins went to the polls on October 16 to determine the makeup of the country’s 81-seat parliament. Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic’s Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) won 36 seats, more than any other individual party, and plans to form a coalition with various ethnic minority parties to gain the requisite 41-seat majority.
Opposition parties claimed that voting irregularities and a series of arrests before the elections made the results illegitimate. Two Montenegrin NGOs, the Center for Democratic Transition and the Center for Monitoring and Research, documented instances of interrupted voting and vote buying. Days prior to the election, Montenegrin authorities arrested 20 Serbs who had allegedly planned to attack voters, officials, and institutions during or after the vote. However, Serbian authorities denied any knowledge of the group’s activities, and members of the pro-Russian and pro-Serbian opposition are suspicious.
The coalition of opposition parties, taken together, won more seats than the DPS, though the DPS won more seats than any other individual party. This has also caused opposition leaders to claim that the results are illegitimate. According to Balkan Insider, opposition official Nedjeljko Rudovic argued that “the opposition won more votes than Djukanovic. Estimates show that the four opposition groups won 40 seats and Djukanovic 36. We were exposed to strong pressure, attacks... these elections could never be described as free and fair.”
If in power, it is likely that these opposition groups would have pursued a pro-Russian agenda. Strahinja Bulajic, a member of the Democratic Front, which won 18 seats, said prior to the election that if his party won, “we will abolish sanctions against Russia and develop the closest economic and political ties [with Moscow].” Montenegro joined other European states in sanctioning Russia over the invasion of Crimea in 2014, and became a member of NATO in May 2016. It is likely that both decisions were made to ease the path to European Union membership. Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic justified the decision, saying, “If we did not, if we’d been indifferent to the decisions [of imposing sanctions], the path to the EU would definitely have been slowed, and the relationship with NATO, of course, would exclude the possibility of inviting [Montenegro to join the alliance].”
As Prime Minister, Djukanovic is likely to claim his new mandate as grounds to pursue EU membership more aggressively. Montenegro began the EU accession process shortly after its 2006 independence, and was confirmed as a candidate for membership in 2010. Its citizens are already allowed visa-free travel in the Schengen area. According to the BBC, Djukanovic wants his country to become an EU member before Serbia, from which Montenegro gained independence.
If the election’s outcome is not disputed further and no greater unrest arises, it is likely that Montenegro will continue to pursue both the accession process and closer ties with other EU member states and European institutions.