Montenegro’s newest political formation, Europe Now, is leading in the June 11 snap general election ahead of a coalition led by the former ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), a parallel vote count from the Centre for Monitoring (CeMI) showed.

However, the figures indicate Europe Now will not have a majority to form a government alone, and faces tough times ahead as it tries to put together a ruling coalition. With just 23 MPs expected, the party will need the support of at least 18 more MPs to get a majority in the 81-seat parliament.

According to CeMI, Europe Now got 25.6% of the vote based on 82.2% of votes counted, closely followed by the DPS-led coalition Together with 23.8%. 

Third came far-right For the Future of Montenegro that includes New Serb Democracy (NSD), the Democratic People’s Party (DNP) and the Labour Party (RP) with 15%. The coalition between the liberal pro-Western Democrats and URA came fourth with 12.2%. The Bosniak Party followed with 6.8%, and the Justice for All coalition also passed the 3% threshold, getting 3.3% of the votes.

The Albanian Forum will have two MPs and the Albanian Alliance will have one MP in parliament, while the Croatian coalition HGI will also have one MP.

The turnout was 56.6% — significantly lower compared to the recent presidential elections.

In the first official statement after the closure of polling stations, Filip Ivanovic of Europe Now said that this is the strongest formation in Montenegrin politics at the moment but did not hint on possible coalition partners. The party has repeatedly said it will not enter in coalition with the DPS.

Europe Now, created by President Jakov Milatovic and Milojko Spajic, quickly gained popularity and beat the DPS in local elections last year and in the presidential vote in April. It is seen as the fresh pro-Western alternative to the DPS and its leaders have already shown they can carry out reforms that would quickly raise people’s living standards.

Spajic and Milatovic were ministers of finance and economy in the former government of Zdravko Krivokapic after the 2020 general election. They drafted a programme of reforms, named Europe Now, which also led to a significant hike of wages in public sector and of pensions.

Meanwhile, For the Future of Montenegro said it is ready to join forces with its former coalition partners. After the August 2020 general election a broad spectrum of parties ranging from Western-oriented liberals to far-right pro-Russians put aside their political differences to back a government that did not include the DPS. They included the far-right Democratic Front, URA and the leaders of Europe Now.