Montenegro's Opposition Urges to Declare Election Results 'Stolen and Falsified'

19:07 GMT, 16 April 2018

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PODGORICA (Sputnik) - The Montenegrin opposition has urged its presidential candidate Mladen Bojanic, the main opponent of ex-Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic in the Sunday presidential election, not to recognize the results of the vote over alleged ballot rigging, the leader of the Democratic Front alliance, Andrija Mandic, told Sputnik.

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Earlier in the day, the Republican Election Commission said that leader of Montenegro’s ruling Democratic Party of Socialists Djukanovic was ahead in the presidential election with 54 percent of the vote after more than 98 percent of ballots had been counted.

"Unfortunately, Djukanovic has rigged this election as well, just like the previous ones. Our coalition suggested that Bojanic, as our candidate, should not recognize the election results and declare them stolen and falsified. I am sure that he will accept our proposal and will not recognize the outcome of the vote," Mandic said.

Bojanic is awaiting the assessment of the election by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), after which he will be ready to respond to the opposition’s proposal, he added. Afterward, the opposition intends to discuss its further actions, according to Mandic.

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Bojanic, who represents a group of opposition parties, has gained some 33.32 percent. The candidate has already said that he intends to "continue his struggle," with his election campaign stating that its representatives will refuse to sign election protocols if they detect any irregularities.

Djukanovic has de-facto been at the helm of Montenegro since 1991. Since the country gained independence in 2006, he has served as prime minister twice — from 2008 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2016.