Montenegro’s Veteran Leader Poised for Return

Montenegrins are voting in an election that looks set to return Milo Djukanovic to the presidency, giving the veteran leader a chance to fulfill his pledge to lead the country into the European Union after parting ways with Russia by joining NATO last year. Djukanovic, the dominant leader in the country of 620,000 since he became prime minister in 1991 at the age of 29, resigned as prime minister in 2016. He has pivoted to portray himself as a staunchly pro-western figure, Bloomberg reported. The 56-year-old former president and prime minister tops opinion polls and may win 51% of votes, according to a March survey by the Podgorica-based Center for Democracy and Human Rights. His main challenger, Mladen Bojanic, is seen winning 36%. Ballot stations open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Sunday. Preliminary results are expected later in the evening, and if no candidate wins a majority, the top two finishers will progress to an April 29 runoff.