Party support for one of the presidential candidates is more a matter of marketing than it will realistically affect their results, which, however, is not the case for minority national communities whose votes can be crucial, according to "Vijesti" interlocutors.
Most of the parties that did not enter the election race on March 19, decided to support one of the seven candidates. Minority parties overwhelmingly opted for the current head of state and leader of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). Milo Đukanović, and after him he has the most support Jakov Milatovic, who was proposed by the Europe Now Movement, along with other similar political and civic lists.
Professor at the University "Donja Gorica" Nikoleta Djukanovic believes that the DPS leader, who, as he states, has a higher rating among citizens compared to the party, can be crucially supported by the voters of smaller parties. Journalist Nikola Markovic, also believes that minority national communities will have a "big impact on the ground", while the analyst Edin Smailović adds that Bosniaks would have voted for Đukanović even without the invitation of the Bosniak Party (BS).
Đukanović was supported by BS, the Albanian parties Democratic Union of Albanians (DUA) and Democratic Party (DP), then the Croatian Civic Initiative (HGI), the Democratic Party of the Roma and the Montenegrin Muslim Party. In addition to the minority parties, he also has the Social Democrats (SD), longtime partners at the state level, but also in some municipalities.
When it comes to the national parties of Albanians, the Albanian Forum invited the voters to decide for themselves, while Forca has not yet decided, although their leader Genzi Nimanbeg repeatedly said that he would personally support the candidate Draginja Vuksanović Stanković (SDP).
The Forum includes the parties that won the local elections in Tuzi, of which he is the mayor Nick Djelosaj which was at the head of the list.
When it comes to that municipality, the local movement for Tuzi stood, as they announced, with Vuksanović Stanković. That movement and the SDP ran together in the recent elections.
Jakov Milatović (Mokret Evropa Sad) was supported by CIVIS and the Justice and Reconciliation Party (SPP), coalition partners of the GP URA. He was also supported by the Yugoslav Communist Party, Alternativa, the Christian Democratic Movement, the Biram Bar movement and part of the "Ne damo Nikšić" alliance, then Novska lista. The former boss, the former prime minister, also gave public support to Milatović yesterday Zdravko Krivokapic in whose government he was the minister for economic development.
One of the leaders of the Democratic Front Andrija Mandic (DF) received the support of the Socialist People's Party (SNP), the Serbian National Council, Prava Montenegro and Slobodna Montenegro.
With the candidate of Democratic Montenegro Aleks Bečić He became a member of the URA Citizens' Movement, the Citizens' Group "New Wins", Plenum 083 and part of the "We Don't Give Nikšić" Movement.
The presidential elections are scheduled for Sunday, and the candidates include the leader of the United Montenegro Goran Danilović and a candidate of a group of citizens Jovan Radulović.
Professor at "Donja Gorica" University Nikoleta Đukanović told "Vijesti" that on the one hand, Montenegrin political culture is characterized by strong party discipline and it is expected that both the membership and the voters are guided by the calls of their leaders to support certain candidates.
"However, parties that do not have their own candidates in these elections are usually parties that have relatively little support among citizens and in that sense cannot influence the outcome of the election itself. I therefore believe that the fact that the URA invited voters to vote for Bečić cannot influence him to achieve even a slightly better result", she assessed.
However, as she added, she believes that every vote will mean something to Đukanović.
"At a time when the DPS is continuously losing the trust of its voters, I believe that the support of other, and even smaller, parties will mean Đukanović. Although he has more strength than the party itself, because research shows that he clearly has more support than his party, I believe that it can be a crucial support of the voters of smaller parties," she said.
Journalist and director of Radio-television Nikšić Nikola Markovic indicates that these presidential elections are longer than others because they are taking place for the first time in a more or less free atmosphere, and because it is the first time that the DPS candidate does not appear from the positions of the executive power.
He told "Vijesti" that all of this will require citizens to vote more according to their conscience than according to the dictates of the party.
"That's why I think that the support of parties, local lists and individuals is more a matter of marketing that aims to create an impression of the strength of a candidate, rather than having a real effect on the field. Of course, I am excluding the support of minority national communities, which also influenced various election processes in our country," said Marković.
Historian and columnist Edin Smailović believes that the Montenegrin electorate is already determined that it can hardly affect any result.
"When it comes to PR, I think that it is more important to some candidates than others (in terms of support from local papers and parties) and that of course it depends on the social context. In general, the Bosniak Party (BS) has a lot more voters, and their support is significant for Đukanović, but I think that those voters would definitely vote for Đukanović and if they had not made such a clear decision", Smailović told "Vijesta".
Commenting on the fact that the Justice and Reconciliation Party supported Milatović, he says that the SPP is not yet respectable in terms of the number of voters, but that this is objectively a good marketing move for Jakov Milatović.
"And to SPP in case Milatović wins", he adds.
Not everyone blames Đukanović for war crimes
Smailović says that the support for Đukanović is conditioned by the fact that, to put it conditionally, the other half of the political scene in Montenegro has not moved away from supporting the legacy of war crimes.
"Đukanović is not blamed for being a part of that government, but for not staying on top of those ideological and political consequences. After all, there lies the answer to why these divisions of ours are still so strong today", said Smailović, answering the question of how he assesses the fact that BS stands by Đukanović, regardless of the fact that he was part of the government responsible for war crimes.
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