2006 Montenegrin parliamentary election

Constitutional Assembly elections were held in the newly independent Republic of Montenegro on 10 September 2006. Prime Minister Milo Đukanović's Coalition for a European Montenegro (based around Democratic Party of Socialists) won 41 seats in the 81-seat Parliament. The opposition blocs together won 34 seats; 12 for the Serbian List and 11 each for the Socialist People's Party and the Movement for Changes. Other seats were won by parties representing ethnic minorities, mainly Albanians.

2006 Montenegrin parliamentary election

10 September 2006
Turnout71.4% 3.2pp
Party Leader % Seats ±
ECG Milo Đukanović 48.62 41 +2
Serb List Andrija Mandić 14.68 12 +6
SNPNSDSS Predrag Bulatović 14.07 11 -13
PzP Nebojša Medojević 13.13 11 New
LPBS Miodrag Živković 3.76 3 +2
DSPDP Osman Rexha 1.29 1 0
DUA Gëzim Hajdinaga 1.09 1 0
AA Vasilj Siništaj 0.78 1 New
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Prime Minister before Prime Minister after
Milo Đukanović
DPS
Željko Šturanović
DPS

As rival groups conceded defeat, the Đukanović stated "These elections showed that Montenegro is stable and firm on its road to Europe."[1]

Electoral system

Of the 81 seats in Parliament, 76 were elected by proportional representation in a nationwide constituency and five were elected in a special constituency for the Albanian minority.[2] The electoral threshold was set at 3% and seats allocated using the d'Hondt method.[2] Closed lists were used with a single list for both constituencies, although parties only had to award half their seats according to the order of the list, with the remaining half free for them to allocate.[2]

Campaign

The main campaign issues were the economy, unemployment, the environment and European integration.[3] The government campaigned on the recent successful independence referendum and international recognition of the country.[3] Opposition parties criticised the performance of state institutions, as well as criticising their politicisation, but suffered from internal divisions and the formation of new parties.[3]

Although the Đukanović government made a decision not to pay for parties' election campaigns using state funds, it eventually relented and funding was distributed equally between all parties.[3] However, the opposition claimed the amount distributed was too low.

Opinion polls

One opinion poll leading up to the elections suggested Đukanović's Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) could win as much as 30%-45% of the vote, but that would still leave him needing a coalition partner. According to the same poll, the three pro-Serb opposition alliances could each win between 10% and 20% of the vote - potentially enough to unseat the Prime Minister if they succeed in uniting against him. All three claimed their main priority was to replace Đukanović. However, the Prime Minister himself did not rule out joining forces with the main opposition bloc, led by the Socialist People's Party.[4]

Results

Party Votes % Seats +/–
Main Albanian Total
Coalition for a European Montenegro (DPSSDPHGI)164,73748.6239241+2
Serb List (SNSSSRNSSDSJ)49,73014.6812012
SNPNSDSS47,68314.0711011
Movement for Changes44,48313.1311011New
Liberals and Bosniak Party12,7483.76303
DSCGPDP Coalition4,3731.29011
Democratic Union of Albanians3,6931.09011
Civic List2,9060.86000
Albanian Alternative2,6560.78011
Communists of Montenegro2,3430.69000
New Democratic Force2,1970.65000
Democratic Party of Montenegro1,2860.38000
Invalid/blank votes6,922
Total345,75710076581+6
Registered voters/turnout484,43071.4
Source: Nohlen & Stöver
Vote share
ECG
48.62%
Serb List
14.68%
SNP-NS-DSS
14.07%
PzP
13.13%
LP-BS
3.76%
Others
5.74%
Seats
ECG (41)
50.61%
Serb List (12)
14.81%
SNP-NS-DSS (11)
13.58%
PzP (11)
13.58%
LP-BS (3)
3.70%
Minorities (3)
3.70%

References

  1. Djukanovic's coalition claims absolute victory Podgorica Makfax, 11 September 2006
  2. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1370 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  3. Nohlen & Stöver, p1367
  4. Q&A: Montenegro votes BBC News, 11 September 2006
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