Jakov Milatovic will be the new president of Montenegro. This liberal economist beat the veteran of Balkan politics, the irremovable Milo Dukanovic, in power for 32 years.
According to projections by the NGO CeMI covering almost all polling stations, Jakov Milatovic, 36 years old, won about 60% of the vote in the second round of the presidential election, against 40% for his rival who spent three decades at the top of power. “ I congratulate the new President Jakov Milatovic “, declared to the press Ana Nenezic, the director of this NGO.
In the streets of Podgorica, capital of the small Balkan state, and other cities, supporters of the Europe Now candidate celebrated his victory by setting off fireworks and honking their horns.
Legislative next June
The outcome of the vote will weigh heavily on the balance of power in the country bordering the Adriatic where early legislative elections are convened for June 11. It will now be more difficult for the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) of Milo Djukanovic, which had already suffered a historic defeat in the last legislative elections of 2020, to recover. The new head of state should have no trouble finding a majority in June. It should confirm the main strategic orientations of the country, a member of NATO since 2017 and a candidate for European integration.
As scenes of jubilation spread throughout the country this Sunday evening, Montenegro proved those who played the Cassandra and feared a civil war to lie. On the contrary, it is a democratic and perfectly peaceful alternation, started during the legislative elections of August 2020, which is coming to an end, analyzes our correspondent in Podgorica, Jean-Arnault Dérens. Far from identity and national rifts, voters now expect an improvement in the economic situation.
► Also to listen: Grand Reportage – Montenegro facing the challenge of identity tensions