Montenegrins yesterday voted in an election testing the three-decade domination of a pro-West ruling party that has faced a year of protests and high tension with supporters of the influential Orthodox church.
A dynamic reformist to some and a corrupt autocrat to others, 58-year-old Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic has led the Adriatic nation for half of his life, taking it from the end of communism in the 1990s to independence from Serbia in 2006 and more recently into NATO, to the dismay of Russia.
His Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) has never lost an election.
Photo: Reuters
However, its majority in parliament is razor-thin, and this year the party faces a challenge from an emboldened right-wing and pro-Serb opposition that wants closer links with Belgrade and Moscow.
Voters were obliged to wear masks, maintain their distance from others and disinfect their hands before casting ballots to avoid the spread of COVID-19.
The virus has battered Montenegro’s tourism-dependant economy, putting the country on course for its worst contraction in more than a decade.
However, the election campaign has instead focused on sensitive identity debates sparked by Djukanovic’s row with the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC).
The conflict erupted late last year, when the government passed a law that could turn hundreds of SPC-run monasteries in Montenegro into state property.
While Montenegro declared independence from Serbia in 2006, the SPC remains its largest religious institution and one-third of the country’s 620,000 population identify as Serb.
The law set off huge anti-government protests, led by priests and backed by the pro-Serb opposition.
Ahead of the election, demonstrations have taken the form of car rallies, with demonstrators waving Serbian flags.
The president, who projects himself as a custodian of stability, has used such reactions to raise fears about a threat to Montenegro’s sovereignty.
The opposition parties are “the political infantry of Greater Serbia nationalism,” he said recently, referring to an ultra-nationalist dream to unite all parts of the Balkans with Serb communities.
Analysts have said a slate of smaller parties focusing on the economy and weak rule of law could play a decisive role in this year’s election, given the closeness of the race.
While the DPS was still tipped to win, its could fall short of an absolute majority.
“It is a tense situation and the outcome of the elections will depend on the outcome within the civic bloc,” Podgorica-based analyst Milos Besic told reporters.
The country is a front-runner in the region on its path to joining the EU, but issues like graft, media freedoms and organized crime remain major concerns in Brussels.
The US-based Freedom House has branded the country a “hybrid regime” instead of a democracy, due to corruption and to strongman tactics employed by Djukanovic.
“It would be good to change, whatever the risk,” said Nikola Jovanovic, a young businessman in the capital. “I don’t really have any preferences for who, but changes are very important for the development of society.”
Police have warned of possible incidents on election day, saying they detected plans to “take to the streets, cause riots and disturb public order.”
Montenegrin Minister of the Interior Mevludin Nuhodzic said authorities were “ready to decisively respond to any attempt at violent behavior.”
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