Montenegrin municipal election

Montenegrin lawmakers on Wednesday  will meet to approve a new cabinet after the ruling and opposition parties agreed on forming a transitional government to organize parliamentary elections by the end of this year.

It is expected that MPs at the same session will adopt a special law to legally define the implementation of the agreement and how state resources can be used.

The municipality of Berane in northern Montenegro has unanimously decided to declare Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic its honorary citizen.

The Podgorica-based daily Vijesti is reporting about this, noting that the initiative met with the support of all 35 councilors from the "Zdravo Berane" SNP-DF coalition, and those from the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS).

Djukanovic's Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, scored its latest local government poll win on Sunday in Herceg Novi, a town on the Montenegrin-Croatian border.

Although no party won an absolute majority in Sunday's poll, it was clear that the united opposition list had lost its majority for the first time in 14 years.

Montenegro's ruling parties, the Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, and the Social Democratic Party, SDP, are to sign an annex to their coalition agreement next week, aimed at ending long-standing disputes over policy.

The Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, and the Social Democratic Party agreed on Sunday to form a city government in the capital, ending a political crisis that threatened new local elections.

...

After almost two months negotiations on a new authority for the city between the two national ruling parties the Party of Democratic Socialists, DPS, and the Social Democratic Party, SDP, collapsed on Wednesday, the capital could face new elections.

SDP leader Ranko Krivokapic, who is also the speaker of parliament, said new elections are "the most realistic option at this point".

Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said on Sunday that his ruling Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, and the Social Democratic Party, SDP, could sign an agreement on forming an administration in Podgorica by the end of July, ending the deadlock which has left the capital in limbo since the mayor and city management’s mandate expired in mid-June.

Repeat polls were held in Danilovgrad, Kolasin and Bijelo Polje on Sunday due to reports of significant irregularities but the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, remained the overall victor.

The DPS took the largest amount of seats in all three municipalities but only won an outright majority in Danilovgrad.

A total of 717 polling stations will open from 7am to 8pm on Sunday May 25 for local elections in 12 of the country’s 22 municipalities. Almost 315,000 people have a right to vote.

Local elections, held in accordance with a new EU-backed electoral law, will take place in Podgorica, Bar, Bijelo Polje, Danilovgrad, Zabljak, Kolasin, Plav, Pluzine, Pljevlja, Rozaje, Savnik and Gusinje.

Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, head of the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, said the struggle to seek control of Podgorica will be "the toughest election battle" his party has faced since the independence referendum back in 2006.