Parliamentary elections begin in Montenegro

According to preliminary surveys, the ruling The Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro, led by Prime Minister Milo Đukanović, is losing votes. One of the reasons is refusal of holding referendum on the question of NATO membership. It has not formed a coalition with anyone, but the pre-election list includes two representatives of the Liberal Party.

The serious opposition was formed by a coalition of center-left parties. Despite the fact that they have different views on NATO membership, they are focusing together on the opposition to the economic policy of Đukanović.

In general there are 14 parties and 3 coalitions involved in the elections, one of which is a coalition of Albanians minority. The electoral threshold is lowered to 0.35% of votes for parties which are representing ethnic minorities.

According to polls conducted by the Serbian news agency, voters are not much interested in the elections. However, the elections are taking place without any apparent violations.