Montenegrins will elect the head of their state on Sunday, in the second round of presidential elections, in which former president Milo Djukanovic, a veteran of the political scene of this small Balkan country, and Yakov Milatovic, a political newcomer, will play, press agencies inform the international.

The vote is crucial to the balance of power in the Adriatic-landlocked country ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for June 11.

Montenegro has been in lockdown for months since the August 2022 overthrow of the government that has since overseen the country’s current troubles.

Polling stations opened at 07:00 (05:00 GMT) and are due to close at 20:00 local time, with unofficial results expected on Sunday evening.

In the first round two weeks ago, Milo Djukanovic, who has dominated the country’s political scene for three decades, won 35.4% of the vote compared to 28.9% for Jakov Milatovic.

There are no polls in Montenegro, but analysts believe the 36-year-old economist has a chance of winning, as they believe he has a larger pool of votes than his rival.

He can also count on change-hungry voters fed up with 61-year-old Milo Djukanovic and his party, the Democratic Party of Socialists (PDS).

The Democratic Party of Socialists (PDS) suffered a historic defeat in the 2020 parliamentary elections. Since then, the former Yugoslav republic has lurched from one political crisis to another and experienced the fall of government twice.

Milo Djukanovic came to power 29 years ago with the support of the then president of Serbia, Slobodan Milosevic.

But when Serbia became an outcast on the international stage, Djukanovic knew how to distance himself from Belgrade. He turned to the West and won the independence of Montenegro in the 2006 referendum.

Under the leadership of Milo Djukanovic and his party, Montenegro joined NATO, became a candidate for membership in the European Union, and left the sphere of Russian influence.

But his detractors accuse him of widespread corruption and ties to organized crime, which Djukanovic strongly denies.

Milo Djukanovic ran his election campaign questioning the sincerity of his opponent’s European commitment and his Europe Now movement, while accusing him of being vulnerable to Serbian interference.

For years, Milo Djukanovic has tried to limit Serbian influence and consolidate a national identity separate from Montenegro, no easy task in a country where a quarter of its roughly 620,000 people identify as Serbs.

In the final days of the campaign, he tried to appeal to minorities and the diaspora.

Yakov Milatovych, a former employee of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), entered politics, becoming the Minister of Economic Development in the first government formed after the 2020 parliamentary elections.

The father of three, who some call a populist, became particularly popular after imposing a controversial economic program that saw the minimum wage for Montenegrins practically double to 450 euros.

For many voters, the election should lead to improved economic conditions in Montenegro, which, like other Balkan countries, is suffering from a youth exodus.

In any case, the president of the country has mainly a representative role, and the prime minister is the one who holds the main levers of power.