Polls in Montenegro closed today, Sunday, following voting in early parliamentary elections that many hope will lead to the formation of a new government to implement economic reforms, improve infrastructure, and assist the NATO member state in obtaining European Union membership. This voting is the first of its kind in the former Yugoslav republic since the defeat of Milo Djukanovic, the long-time leader of the Democratic Party of Socialists, in the presidential elections in April and his resignation after 30 years in power.
Initial unofficial results are expected to emerge about an hour after the polling ends, based on an exit poll conducted on a representative sample of voters. The electoral commission will announce the final results in the coming days. According to the Center for Monitoring and Research, a polling center, voter turnout reached 50.8 percent an hour before the polls closed, down from 76.7 percent in the 2020 elections. The center noted that the Europe Now Movement received an estimated 25.5 percent of the votes, while the pro-European Democratic Party of Socialists came second with 23.4 percent.
The electoral commission stated that 15 parties and coalitions are competing for 81 seats in the parliament of a country with a population of just over 620,000. The number of voters is about 540,000. The country still faces sharp divisions between those who take pride in a Montenegrin identity and those who identify as Serbs and oppose the country's separation from Serbia in 2006.
The republic is a candidate for EU membership, but it must first tackle issues of corruption, nepotism, and organized crime. In 2017, the country joined NATO following an attempted coup, with the government accusing Russian agents and Serbian nationalists of being behind it. Moscow rejected these accusations, calling them nonsense, and the Serbian government denied any involvement. Unlike Serbia, Montenegro participated in the EU sanctions imposed on Moscow following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, also sending aid to Ukraine and expelling several Russian diplomats. The Kremlin has listed Montenegro among countries it considers "unfriendly."
