Citizens in Montenegro voted today for the extraordinary parliamentary elections.
According to the preliminary results in the neighboring country, "Europe Now Movement" is currently leading with 25.6% of the votes.
This party is followed by the "Together" coalition, which received 23.8% of preliminary data.
The "NSD-DNP" coalition has 15% of the votes, the "Ura-Demokratët" coalition of parties has 12.3%.
4.1% of the votes have a total of 3 Albanian parties, which compete separately and not in a coalition.
The Bosnian Party received 6.8% of the votes according to preliminary data, and the Socialist People's Party received 3.4% of the votes.
Why were these elections important?
These extraordinary parliamentary elections could end a nearly three-year political crisis in Montenegro where two governments were toppled through no-confidence motions.
The election result could produce a functioning government that Montenegro has not had since April 2020, when the Democratic Party of Socialists, then led by Milo Djukanovic, lost the election.
Various international media and political analysts said in recent days that these elections will be decisive for the future of Montenegro as voters will have the opportunity to decide to support parties and coalitions, some supporting the West, others supporting Serbia as well as such supporters of Russia.
The result of these elections will show whether Montenegro, as a small country of the Western Balkans, members of NATO, will offer more to the European Union and advance in the integration processes.
These are the first parliamentary elections in the last 30 years in which the former president of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, who lost in the presidential elections held in April of this year, is not participating.
Previously, on March 16, three days before the first round of presidential elections, Djukanovic dissolved Parliament and called early parliamentary elections, citing ongoing turmoil within the government and lack of progress towards membership of the European Union.
The June 11 elections are the 12th parliamentary elections since the introduction of the multiparty system and the sixth since the independence of Montenegro in 2006.
Montenegro has been a member of NATO since 2017 and a candidate for EU membership since the end of 2012.
Montenegro opened all 33 negotiation chapters, the last one in June 2020, and closed three.