European Forum

SDP and DPS win local elections in Montenegro

The Coalition for European Montenegro, led by the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), won in most municipalities during local elections held on Sunday May 23rd. The coalition won seven out of 14 municipalities and the city municipality of Tuzi. In the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica, however, it will not be able to form a government on its own. Instead, it will have to seek support from the Social Democratic Party (SDP), led by the country's parliamentary speaker Ranko Krivokapic. According to preliminary results, the DPS-led coalition will hold 28 out of the 57 seats in Podgorica's city council; the united opposition will have 24, while the SDP will have five. This was the first time in a decade that the DPS and the SDP ran separately.

Disappointing results
A Better Montenegro coalition, which brought together 12 opposition parties, won in Pljevlja and Pluzine. It still retains a majority in Golubovci, a part of Podgorica with its own municipal assembly. The opposition parties had hoped for a breakthrough in the local contests, after finally coming together to form a united front. But Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic's DPS swept the tables nevertheless, and achieved an absolute victory in the municipalities of Bar, Danilovgrad, Savnik, Zabljak, Berane, Bijelo Polje and Rozaje. In five others, it must form a coalition. Besides in Podgorica, it needs an alliance with the SDP in Ulcinj and Andrijevica; and with small ethnic Albanian parties and civic groups in Plav and Kolasin.

Meanwhile, Krivokapic's SDP now finds itself in an fortunate "kingmaker" role. "We will work in the interests of all citizens, and after the elections we will again consult with the citizens because the city [of Podgorica] belongs to them. Citizens will define what will be the final priorities when entering into coalitions with potential partners for future city government," party vice president Vujica Lazovic told journalists.

“SDP real winner, DPS relative”"
The SDP is the only real winner of the elections in Podgorica," said analyst Milos Besic. "It is obvious that the party's constituency consists of young intellectuals, a progressive electorate. The DPS is a relative winner." In Besic's view, the vote was a washout for the opposition. "They were united, they were a serious coalition, […] but did not manage to threaten the DPS," he said.

Opposition leaders, meanwhile, are refusing to recognise the results in Podgorica due to what they claim are "a significant number of complaints" about the voting process. They say numerous irregularities took place, with voters being shuttled among polling stations, and the possible tampering of voters' lists. Unlike previous elections, this local poll was not monitored by domestic or foreign observers.

In the meantime, the opposition coalition said it is "ready to talk with SDP to form a government” in the capital. "They can decide whether they want the status quo and that for the umpteenth time, after the big words, return to the embrace of DPS, Milo Djukanovic and [incumbent Mayor Miomir Mugosa], or they can go with us," opposition leader Nebojsa Medojevic said.

In most of the cities in Montenegro the turnout was over 50 per cent according to officials from the municipal election commissions. In Podgorica, which accounts for more than a third of the total electorate of the state, turnout was 60 per cent, which is at the level of last year's parliamentary elections.

Sources: Balkan Insight; SE Times