The era of the 32-year rule of Djukanovic ended in Montenegro

According to the results of the second round of presidential elections held on April 2 in Montenegro, 37-year-old economist Yakov Milatovich from the Europe Now! movement won. He won 60% of the vote against 40% of the current head of state, Milo Djukanovic, who has been in power in one capacity or another since 1991. Milatovic has already said that he defeated the “last dictator of Europe” and promised to speed up Montenegro’s accession to the EU. Djukanovic admitted defeat, but hinted that the fight was not over yet.

According to the Montenegrin Center for Monitoring and Research (CEMI), which oversees the elections, Yakov Milatovic received the support of 60% of the voters, while Milo Djukanovic had 40%. Europe Now! Candidate won in all key municipalities of Montenegro. The most tangible advantage was in Podgorica, where Milatovic scored more than 68%. The winner showed the worst result in Niksic, Djukanovic’s hometown. There, according to CEMI, Milatovic won 50.3% of the vote against 49.7% for the incumbent head of state. The turnout in the country exceeded 70% of voters.

Supporters of the winner were celebrating the victory at night in large cities of Montenegro – eyewitnesses talk about “columns of cars humming with horns”, the passengers of which, in addition to all other symbols, held Serbian flags in their hands. In Podgorica, they chanted: “The cold rain has begun – Milo is gone!”. Milo Djukanovic made the main slogan of his company a short phrase: “If not Milo, then who?”. Milatovic promised in slogans: “We will succeed.”

Milatovic has already announced his victory. “This is a historic day. We leave the past behind and move forward. We will no longer be divided, we will be united. Thanks to Montenegro – fair, rich and free, in which all citizens will be equal,” he announced, promising the country to maintain NATO membership and accelerate its accession to the European Union. He described the losing opponent unflatteringly. Milatovic called Djukanovic’s system of government “outdated” and called him “the last dictator in Europe.”

61-year-old Djukanovic, speaking to reporters, was more diplomatic: he admitted defeat, congratulated Milatovich on his victory. “I accept this assessment of society and hope that the new president will be worthy of the trust placed in him,” Djukanovic said.

Despite his young age, Oxford graduate Milatovich cannot be called a novice. Prior to entering politics in 2020, he built a career in banking. Milatovic worked at NLB, Deutsche Bank, and also at the EBRD, where he was involved in risk assessment, primarily in the Balkans. At the end of 2020, he became the Minister of Economy in the team of Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic. However, already in the spring of 2022, after the Assembly passed a vote of no confidence in this cabinet, he resigned. Shortly thereafter, Milatović, together with former Finance Minister Milojko Spaić, founded the Europe Now! movement. It received quite powerful positions already in 2022, in the first local elections for itself – having received strong factions or formed ruling coalitions in more than half of the country’s regional assemblies.

Spaich became the leader of the movement, and he was nominated in early 2023 for the presidency of the country. But at the end of February, the Montenegrin electoral committee refused the candidate to participate in the presidential elections due to suspicions that he had Serbian citizenship, which, according to the law, forbade him to be nominated. Then, instead of Spaich, the movement nominated Milatovich. In March, in the first round of the presidential elections, the future winner came second, receiving 29.2% of the vote against 35.7% for Milo Djukanovic.

The authorities of neighboring Serbia already on the evening of April 2 congratulated Milatovic on his victory. The Minister of Economy of the country, Rade Basta, said that he expects the new head of Montenegro to continue the “strategic partnership” of the two states. Local and Serbian analysts speak of a “overdue generational change” in the Montenegrin leadership that has “finally happened.” But the experienced Milo Djukanovic, even at the moment of defeat, made it clear that the fight was not yet over. Early elections to the Assembly of the country are scheduled for June 11 in Montenegro. On the evening of April 2, journalists asked Djukanovic if he would head the list of his DPS party in the parliamentary elections. The comrades-in-arms of the incumbent who were standing nearby raised a noise, whistled and began to sing songs, and he avoided answering, saying that he did not hear the question.

Following the results of the elections held in 2020, the DPS formed the largest faction, having received 30 out of 81 mandates, and is now the largest opposition faction in the Assembly. The ruling coalition has only 41 mandates in parliament, of which 27 were received by the For the Future of Montenegro! faction, which consists of representatives of about a dozen movements – from the center-right Democratic People’s Party to the communists.