None of the candidates managed to secure more than half of the votes in the first round of the Montenegrin presidential election. Incumbent President Milo Dukanovic and Jakov Milatovic of the Europe Now movement will compete in the second-round runoff. Mr Dukanovic won 35 per cent of the votes, while Mr Milatovic received 29 per cent. Gaining 19 per cent, Andrija Mandic, who offered an agenda of reconciliation, finished in the third place although many considered him a favourite. On the evening of the election, the politician of the pro-Serbia Democratic Front called on his voters to support Mr Milatovic in the second round on 2 April.

Milo Dukanovic prepares for victory in second round

After securing victory in the first round of the presidential elections on Sunday, Milo Dukanovic is optimistic about the second round.

„I expect victory in the second round. Whoever the challenger is, he is weaker than me,”

he said, adding that once again, the country went through a transparent, democratic process.

His main opponent in the election is the policy that seeks to perpetuate the current standstill Montenegro is facing in the European process, Mr Dukanovic, a pro-EU politician, said in a recent interview. He supports Kyiv in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. „Montenegro firmly stands with Ukraine and its leadership,” he posted on Twitter on the anniversary of the outbreak of the conflict.

The year of immense ordeal and suffering, but also of dignified and determined fight of Ukrainian people to defend their country, international legal order, and supreme values of the free world. Montenegro firmly stands with Ukraine and its leadership.
🇲🇪🤝🇺🇦@ZelenskyyUa pic.twitter.com/05es2DLBYM

— Milo Đukanović (@predsjednik_cg) February 24, 2023

Milatovic: this is victory by a Montenegro that is more equal and just

Mr Dukanovic’s advancement to the second round was predictable, but forecasts were unclear about the winner of the second place: eventually, the race between Andrija Mandic of the Democratic Front and Jakov Milatovic of the Europe Now movement ended with the latter’s victory.

Mr Milatovic is also preparing for victory.

„This is a victory won by all those who carried the torch of freedom for thirty years, those who suffered discrimination, those whose children went abroad to try their luck, those who were poor. This is victory by a Montenegro that is more equal and just ,” he said after the results were announced.

He then promised to send Mr Dukanovic into political retirement In the second round.

Serbs may decide the final winner

Andrija Mandic, who finished third, is the candidate of the pro-Serb Democratic Front. He has been calling for his country to leave NATO for years. He had earlier said that he would also withdraw the recognition of Kosovo’s independence and lift the sanctions against Russia. Talking about the Russia-Ukraine war, he said that Montenegro must stay out of it.

Although Mandic only came in third, his supporters could even decide the second round of the presidential race. The candidate of the Democratic Front has asked his supporters to vote for Milatovic.

Serb Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic also congratulated Mandic. Ms Dacic said:

“The Serbs will be the deciding factor in the second round.”

Whether Dukanovic stays will be decided in two weeks

Turnout in Sunday’s vote was 64.06 per cent, almost the same as five years ago, when 63.92 per cent of eligible voters had cast their ballots. The second round will be held two weeks after the first one, on 2 April, until which time the supporters of the candidates eliminated in the first round can decide whether to vote for Dukanovic or Milatovic, i.e. to keep the incumbent president in his seat or to give an opportunity to the new candidate.

This has been the fourth presidential election in Montenegro since the country regained independence and the eighth since the introduction of a multi-party system. Since 1990, the candidates of Dukanovic’s Democratic Party of Socialists has always been elected as president. Filip Vujanovic held the post for three terms between 2003 and 2018, preceded and also succeeded by Milo Dukanovic.