PODGORICA -- Montenegro's Europe Now Movement (PES) won 25.5 percent of votes in a snap election on June 11, the Center for Monitoring and Research (CEMI) pollster said on the basis of a projection of results from a sample of polling stations.
The pro-European Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), which ruled Montenegro between 1990 and 2020, came in second with 23.8 percent of support. The conservative alliance For the Future of Montenegro, led by the pro-Serbian and pro-Russian Democratic Front, garnered 14.7 percent.
The pollster projections were roughly in line with preelection forecasts.
Another pro-EU grouping comprising the Democratic Party and the URA movement of outgoing Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic came in fourth with 12.3 percent, CEMI said on the basis of 90.5 percent of ballots counted in a representative sample of 400 polling stations across the country.
Fifteen parties and alliances were competing for 81 seats in the Balkan country's unicameral parliament on June 11 that many hope will usher in an era of stability after nearly three years of political turbulence that saw two governments ousted.
Voter turnout appeared to be low, just crossing the 50 percent mark as of 7 p.m. local time, an hour before polls shut. Turnover was more than 76 percent in 2020.
The official results are expected within a few days.
The vote comes after former DPS leader Milo Djukanovic lost a presidential election in April and stepped down after three decades in power.
Montenegro is sharply divided among those who identify as Montenegrins and those who consider themselves Serbs and object to the country's split from neighboring Serbia in 2006.
The elections could determine the course of the NATO member's candidacy to join the European Union as well as the implementation of economic reforms. To join the bloc, Montenegro must do more to fight corruption, nepotism, and organized crime.
Two previous governments elected following protests in 2020 that were supported by the influential Serbian Orthodox Church collapsed after no-confidence votes, the last in August.
The country joined NATO in 2017 and has supported Kyiv following Ukraine's invasion by Russia in February 2022, earning it a place on Moscow's list of unfriendly states.
A poll by the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in May placed the PES in the lead with 29.1 percent of the vote. PES also favors closer ties to Serbia, and one of its party members, political newcomer Jakov Milatovic, won the presidential vote in April.
The pro-EU DPS had 24.1 percent support, according to the poll. The Serbian nationalist, pro-Russian Democratic Front polled third with 13.2 percent.
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Montenegrins Elect Parliament Amid Political Stalemate
Voters in the capital, Podgorica, were cautiously optimistic about the outcome.
"Nothing new is happening, but I hope it will get better anyway," Boro, who gave only his first name, told RFE/RL's Balkan Service. "I don't know whether a more stable government will bring any drastic changes compared to this latest government. Everything has been going on in the old way."
Another voter, Jovica, said he expected that "a stable government will be formed," calling it "the most important thing at the moment."