Pro-Serbian Jakov Milatovic becomes Montenegro’s new president. By Sunday night, two-thirds of the votes had been counted. Milatovic remains ahead of current president Milo Djukanovic with 60.1 percent. He had to settle for 39.9 percent.
Djukanovic acknowledged his defeat on Sunday evening. On May 21, Mijatovic will take over from him.
Milatovic is supported by the pro-Serbian camp. He is close to the Serbian Orthodox Church, which is administered from Belgrade. He was Minister of Economic Affairs in the pro-Serbian cabinet. That only ruled from December 2020 to April 2021.
After that, Mijatovic was one of the founders of the party Europe Nu!. That party would like Montenegro to join the EU. But at the same time, it also wants to maintain close ties with Serbia.
The pro-Western Djukanovic had been in power as prime minister or president for more than thirty years. He led the former Yugoslav republic to independence in 2006 and to NATO in 2017. At the same time, his rule was repeatedly overshadowed by corruption and nepotism.
On March 19, none of the candidates received an absolute majority. Therefore a second round was necessary.
