No party won the 41 seats needed to form a government after the snap elections in 2023. The new party “Europe now !”, led by former Finance Minister Milojko Spajić (see note), become the first force with 24 seats in the 81-member parliament. The “Together! For the future that belongs to you” coalition, which includes the leading Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), became the second force with 21 seats. The “For the future of Montenegro” coalition ended in third place with 13 seats, while the remaining 23 seats were distributed among 6 other parties. 



Lengthy negotiations to form a new government followed. Although the newly elected Parliament held its first session on 27 July, it failed to elect a new Speaker. On 10 August, President Jakov Milatović nominated Mr. Spajić (Europe Now!) as prime minister designate tasked to form a government. 



The early elections in 2023 were the first to be held under the new President Milatović (Europe now!) who had succeeded Mr. Milo Đukanović (DPS) in May 2023. They followed a political deadlock and the collapse of two governments. On 16 March, the then President Đukanović (DPS) dissolved Parliament in view of early elections. The key electoral issues included Montenegro’s European Union accession, anticorruption measures and economic development. 



Note:

Mr. Spajić served under the government of Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić who had led the 11-party opposition coalition “For the Future of Montenegro” in the 2020 parliamentary elections. After he lost in a vote of no confidence in February 2022, the then Deputy Prime Minister Dritan Abazović became the Prime Minister in April 2022. However, Mr. Abazović also lost in a vote of no confidence four months later. He stayed as a caretaker Prime Minister until the 2023 snap elections.