Sawt Falasteen - Montenegro's veteran leader Djukanovic loses presidential run-off

Djukanovic has been a political mainstay in Montenegro for decades, rotating through various positions -- including multiple stints as both president and prime minister.

"I congratulate the new president Jakov Milatovic," said Ana Nenezic, the executive director of the Center for Monitoring and Research. The pollster said Milatovic had secured 60 percent of the vote.

Sunday's loss represents one of the biggest setbacks for Djukanovic since he first took the helm of the former Yugoslav republic in 1991 and later oversaw its declaration of independence in 2006.

His defeat will likely weigh heavily on the balance of power in the Balkan nation ahead of snap parliamentary elections due in June, following months of gridlock after the government collapsed in August in the wake of a no-confidence vote.

Montenegro's president, elected for a five-year term, has a mostly ceremonial position and most of the political power resides with the prime minister.

The run-off came two weeks after the first round, where Djukanovic beat back a range of opponents hoping to shake up the political scene. In that race, Djukanovic garnered 35 percent of the vote compared to 29 percent for Milatovic.

But analysts had largely favoured Milatovic to win the presidency, arguing the pro-European economist was likely to appeal to a large number of voters desperate for change after decades of rule by Djukanovic and his Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS).

Milatovic appeared certain of a victory as Montenegrins cast their vote on Sunday.

"I'm absolutely convinced that I will become the new president of the country, that today the citizens of Montenegro will send the current president into the political past," he said.

As news of Djukanovic's crushing defeat spread on Sunday night, Milatovic's supporters took to the streets of the capital to celebrate, honking car horns and setting off fireworks over Podgorica.

- The upstart-

In the run-up to Sunday's vote, Milatovic appeared to capture the eagerness of young voters looking for an injection of fresh faces into the country's leadership.

Milatovic made political headlines as minister of economic development after the 2020 parliamentary elections, which resulted in the first government not ruled by the DPS.

A father of three, he made his mark with a controversial economic programme that, among other things, doubled the minimum wage.

Still, the minimum wage is just 450 euros ($490) a month in the tiny country, which remains heavily reliant on tourism thanks to its picturesque beaches along the Adriatic and its rugged mountains.

The DPS, on the other hand, has witnessed repeated setbacks since the party suffered its first major defeat in the 2020 parliamentary elections.

Since then, Montenegro has stumbled from crisis to crisis that has seen the collapse of two governments.

Under the leadership of Djukanovic and his party, Montenegro joined NATO, kick-started the negotiating process for European Union membership and moved away from Russia's influence.

- Montenegrin identity -

After voting on Sunday, Djukanovic promised to keep pursuing a European future for Montenegro.

"I think this is a good moment -- the starting moment for Montenegro to announce its return to the path of European development," Djukanovic said.

However, his party's rule has been plagued by allegations of widespread corruption and links to organised crime, which Djukanovic denies.

"Here we have a man who has been in power for 30 years. A man who is the personification of a classic dictatorship, a classic abuse of power. The man who has allowed corruption and crime to flourish," Mladen Vukovic, a doctor in Podgorica, told AFP.

Ahead of Sunday's vote, Djukanovic repeatedly questioned whether Milatovic, 36, and his Europe Now party could secure an EU future for Montenegro, while accusing him of being vulnerable to Serbian influence.

Djukanovic, 61, also courted ethnic minorities and the Montenegrin diaspora during the final days on the campaign trail.

"We don't want to depend either politically, economically or in any other way on other countries. Djukanovic can secure that," retired teacher Kata Lekovic, 72, told AFP in Podgorica.

For years, Djukanovic has sought to bridle the influence of Belgrade and the Serbian Church in Montenegro, while carving out a separate Montenegrin national identity.

But it has been no easy task, with roughly a third of Montenegro's population of 620,000 identifying as Serbs.

S.Abdullah--SF-PST