Montenegro

In elections held in Montenegro in April 2001 President Djukanović failed to win an absolute majority of seats. The election was largely fought on the issue of independence from the FRY, with his “Victory for Montenegro” coalition polling slightly more than the opposition alliance “Together for Yugoslavia”. The independence question was averted in the short term by the federal parliament’s ratification of an agreement, in May 2002, to create a looser union, Serbia and Montenegro, to replace the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The defence and foreign ministries, and the federal presidency, were shared by the two countries, and Montenegro maintained the right to hold a referendum on independence after three years. In May 2003 Filip Vujanović won the presidency of Montenegro with 63 per cent of the popular vote.

In May 2006, Montenegro held its independence referendum, with more than 55 per cent of the population voting in favour. On June 3, Montenegro declared its independence and the union (and the history of Yugoslavia) was dissolved when Serbia responded likewise. A general election was held in September and was won by Prime Minister Milo Djukanović's Coalition for European Montenegro, which took 41 of the 81 seats. A number of other parties, the Serbian List (with 12 seats), Socialist People’s Party (11), and the Movement for Change (11), are also represented in the national assembly. Despite his win, Djukanović announced shortly afterwards his wish to step down from the role of prime minister. He was replaced by Željko Šturanović in November. However, Šturanović resigned in early 2008 due to illness and the president nominated Djukanović to serve as prime minister once more.