The previous presidential election held in 2018 was won by Milo Đukanović, leader of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), with 53.9% of the vote in the first round. The incumbent president, Đukanović is eligible for re-election, due to the fact that his first presidential term (1998-2003) was served before the restoration of independence of Montenegro in 2006.

Presidential election will be held amid the deepest political crisis Montenegro has faced since its independence from Serbia in 2006 with the parliament unable to form a new government after bringing down the government of Prime Minister Dritan Abazović in August 2022, and Đukanović pushing for a new parliamentary election. Đukanović, the leader of the DPS, has ruled Montenegro for more than three decades either as prime minister or as president. Although seen as pro-Western, during his lengthy time in power he has been involved in numerous corruption scandals and affairs and many want to see him out of politics.

Results

Presidential elections were held in Montenegro on 19 March 2023, to elect the President of Montenegro. Incumbent President, Milo Đukanović, was eligible for re-election.

Since no candidate received a majority of the vote, a runoff was held on 2 April. In the first round, long-ruling incumbent president Milo Đukanović, leader of the populist DPS, received 35%, coming first. Jakov Milatović, candidate of the newly-formed centrist Europe Now! movement, running on anti-corruption platform, has outperformed the polls, gaining 29% of the votes and will face incumbent Đukanović in the second round. Andrija Mandić, one of the leaders of the right-wing populist DF secured 19% of the votes, finishing third in the first round.The second round runoff resulted in Jakov Milatović defeating incumbent Milo Đukanović, becoming the first elected President not being a member of the Đukanović’s DPS since introduction of the multi-party system in 1990, winning roughly 60% of the popular vote. It was also the first presidential election in Montenegrin history where an incumbent President actively seeking reelection was denied a second term.

The presidential election will be followed by the snap parliamentary election, which the incumbent President Đukanović scheduled for June 2023, dissolving the parliament few days before the first round of elections in which he ran for his third term as head of state.

Sources and further reading:

Montenegro elections: Long-standing leader Milo Djukanovic suffers defeat

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65158643

Montenegro votes for president in tight run-off

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/2/montenegro-votes-for-president-in-tight-run-off