Montenegro sets presidential vote for 19 March

Montenegro’s parliamentary speaker has set 19 March as the date of a presidential election to challenge the long-term rule of President Milo Djukanovic. Djukanovic has been a leader of the Adriatic nation for the past 30 years.

Although the office of president is mostly ceremonial, a new person could be appointed to end the months-long political deadlock that was created when Djukanovic, citing procedural errors, rejected the proposal for a new prime Minister-designate.

After a no confidence motion in the Cabinet of the incumbent Prime Minister Dritan Absazovic , Miodrag Lekic, a veteran politician was disqualified as the candidate to be premier.

This was the second motion of no confidence in the government for the year.

Djukanovic claimed that Lekic was the PM-designate under new legislation. His proposal government was rejected by Djukanovic.

Montenegro is a NATO member, and a candidate for the European Union. However, politics in Montenegro have been marred by a rift among those who identify themselves as Montenegrins, and those who identify themselves as Serbs, and oppose Montenegro's separation from an ex-state union with Serbia, which was much larger.

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