Montenegro's ex-economy minister Milatovic declares victory in presidential run-off
Montenegro’s former Economy Minister Jakov Milatovic has declared victory in a presidential election run-off, defeating longstanding incumbent Milo Djukanovic, who has ruled the small Balkan country for more than three decades, report international agencies.
Milatovic, who is backed by Montenegro’s governing majority, won about 60 percent in the vote on Sunday while Djukanovic won about 40 percent, according to predictions released by the Centre for Monitoring and Research and based on the vote sample. The 37-year-old had campaigned on pledges to curb corruption, improve living standards and bolster ties with the EU and fellow former Yugoslav republic, Serbia. In the capital, some of his jubilant supporters drove through the city centre, honking their car horns while others set off fireworks or fired guns into the air. 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.
