MONTENEGRO’S pro-Western ruling party leader Milo Djukanovic has won an outright victory in the country’s presidential vote, avoiding a run-off, according to official results.
A near-complete vote count showed Djukanovic won 54 per cent of the ballot, while his main opponent, Mladen Bojanic, had 33.3 per cent.
Draginja Vuksanovic, the first ever female presidential candidate in the staunchly conservative, male-dominated Balkan nation, came in third with 8.2 per cent.
Sunday’s vote, the first since Montenegro joined the Nato Western military alliance in December, was seen as a test for Djukanovic, who favours European integration over closer ties to traditional ally Moscow.
Djukanovic led Montenegro to independence from much-larger Serbia in 2006 and was behind last year’s accession into Nato, which Russia strongly opposed.
He said his victory means Montenegro will stick to its plan to join the European Union.
Djukanovic has dominated Montenegrin politics for nearly 30 years, serving both as president and prime minister in several governments. Incumbent president Filip Vujanovic did not run due to term limitations.
Opposition have accused Mr Djukanovic of corruption and blamed the government led by his ruling Democratic Party of Socialists for a spike in violence.
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