11 April 2008: Montenegro’s ruling party continues its two decades of control in the fledgling Balkan nation after its candidate Filip Vujanovic won re-election in Montenegro’s first presidential election since the breakaway from Serbia two years ago. President Vujanovic of the Democratic Party of Socialists won by a landslide taking more than the 50 percent required to avoid a runoff by running on a pro-independence platform and promising closer ties to the European Union.

Election monitors said the ballot was free and fair, highlighting the former Yugoslav republic’s progress in its transition to democracy since becoming an independent country in June 2006

Mr. Vujanovic quickly claimed victory and his main challenger conceded defeat soon after preliminary results were announced following the Sunday, April 6 vote. Mr. Vujanovic also received congratulations from his Balkan neighbor Slovenia, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU. Slovenia promised to assist Montenegro in becoming a member of the 27-nation bloc.

Turnout at 68 percent was more than 20 percent higher than the presidential vote in 2003. Official election results gave President Vujanovic 51.9 percent and Andrija Mandic of the Serbian List bloc, who ran on promises of closer ties with Serbia, took 19.5 percent. Leader of the liberal Movement for Change party, Nebojsa Medovic, garnered 16.6 percent of the vote, and Srdjan Milic of the Socialist People’s Party won about 11 percent.

The DPS party, which has run Montenegro for 19 years, has had a razor-thin majority of the 81 seats in the unicameral Parliament since 2006. The re-election of President Vujanovic shows the continued dominance of the DPS. However, the presidency is largely ceremonial and the real power in Montenegro lies with Prime Minister Milo Dukanovic who has been both president and prime minister of Montenegro since the early 1990s. Mr. Dukanovic, also of the DPS party, resigned as prime minister in October 2006 saying he was fed up with the job but returned last February after Zeljko Sturanovic stepped down to get cancer treatment.

Montenegro was one of the six republics that comprised the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia formed by Tito after World War II. Montenegro was the only republic not to declare independence when Yugoslavia disintegrated in 1992. A referendum on joining with Serbia was overwhelmingly approved, although pro-independence parties boycotted the vote. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia lasted until 2003 when Montenegro renegotiated the terms of its relationship with Serbia and formed the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, however this rump state lasted only three years.

Mr. Dukanovic led the campaign for independence and became prime minister following a referendum approving separation from Serbia in May 2006. Mr. Vujanovic was first elected president while Montenegro was still in the union with Serbia in 2003. Their pro-European party won the parliamentary elections in September 2006.

Relations with the European Union have been improving and Montenegro is in line to join the bloc having signed a Stabilization and Association agreement with the EU in 2007, a precursor to membership.

Brussels has disapprovingly allowed Montenegro to adopt the Euro as its official currency without permission from the European Central Bank even though Montenegro does not have a say in ECB policy and does not meet Eurozone economic conditions.

Click to return to Global Elections Watch Main Page