Montenegro - 2013 Election - President

Voters in the tiny Balkan nation of Montenegro went to the polls on 07 April 2013 to elect a president. The country's 512,000 voters chose incumbent Filip Vujanovic over former Foreign Minister Miodrag Lekic. Turnout was expected to dip as low as 40 percent, with many Montenegrins citing frustration with the country's protracted economic woes.

Montenegro's electoral body said President Filip Vujanovic was reelected with 51.2 percent in that country's election. The state electoral commission said on April 8 that, with 100 percent of votes counted, opposition challenger Miodrag Lekic trailed with 48.8 percent. Lekic claimed to have won after polls closed, and his Democratic Front said it will not accept a third term for Vujanovic. Observers said that the election for the largely ceremonial post "generally met OSCE commitments." Over 326,000 ballots were cast in the election, with turnout of 62%.

The opposition candidate, Miodrag Lekic, challenged the results claiming electoral fraud. The Lekic campaign claimed there were electoral irregularities in connection with around 20,000 invalid ballots and postal votes, which helped Vujanovic to win. Thousands of opposition supporters rallied in Podgorica to protest against the alleged fraud. The protest ended when the Constitutional Court upheld election results.

In January 2015, the governing coalition underwent a number of changes after the withdrawal of the SDP. A new ruling majority was formed when the Positive Montenegro (PCG) offered its support to the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). The parliament was also impacted by splits of parliamentary factions and the emergence of new parties, most notably Demos and the civil initiative United Reform Action (URA).

In September 2015, protests resumed when the runner-up, the Democratic Front (DF) called on the prime minister and his government to resign and for the halt of accession talks to NATO. On 24 October 2015, protests turned violent with police dispersing demonstrators using tear gas. The European Commission (EC) called for “all incidents of violence and allegations of excessive use of force during these events” to be investigated, and for political parties to “re-engage in a constructive political dialogue in the parliament.