The low turnout in Ulcinj of only 36 percent in the first round of voting for the presidential elections opened the dilemma of how, in the once traditionally strong bastion of the current head of state Milo Đukanović, to motivate dissatisfied voters to go to the polls in greater numbers than on March 19.
Open and undisguised support for Đukanović from the leaders of the Albanian parties has so far only been provided by the presidents of the DUA and the DP. Mehmed Zenka i Fatmir Đeka. Forca will make a decision about who it will support in the second round next week, as well as the once powerful Democratic Alliance (DS) in Montenegro, which in the first round suggested to its voters that they decide for themselves who they will support.
President of the DS Saubih Mehmeti, who succeeded in that position Mehmet Bardhi, he said that he will make a decision on this at the session of the party's presidency.
"We are not satisfied... We don't know these younger people who ran in the first round well enough, we don't know them... On the other hand, those who have been in power for more than three decades did not make much effort to meet our demands for improving the position of Albanians in Montenegro ," Mehmeti told Vijesti.
Unlike him, his coalition partner at the local level, Zenka, is convinced of Djukanović's victory in the second round. "We have good announcements from Western European countries. We expect the diaspora, en masse... And they are aware that the country is at a crossroads - west or east. Also, we have a lot of our voters and students in Kosovo who did not vote in the first round. On the second of April, everyone will be there", Zenka told Vijesta.
Vijesti did not manage to find out from Đeka, who is also the Minister for Human and Minority Rights, how he will motivate his voters to come out in larger numbers in the second round. He did not answer calls, nor did he respond to messages.
According to "Vijesti" information, DPS has a problem and that some Albanian leaders have animosity towards that party, they are angry because DPS prevented the election of an Albanian to the Constitutional Court. That is why they have the problem of how to convince the leader of the Albanian Alternative Nika Đeljošaj to call and campaign for Đukanović on the field. The interlocutor says that this is why he will try to convince the Albanian leaders in Montenegro through their friends from Albania and Kosovo to "beg" for Đukanović in the second round".
Apart from the low turnout, the characteristic of the first round of local elections in Ulcinj is the dominance of Đukanović, who managed to win 4.163 votes, which is 56,4 percent of the total number of voters, a solid result. Jakov Milatović (775 votes or 10,5 percent), since he is participating in the elections for the first time and may have a slightly lower score Alekse Bečić although he doubled the votes (1.536 votes or 20,8 percent) compared to last year.
Đukanović won almost twice as many votes as the DPS-BS coalition list in March last year (2.108 votes or 18,6 percent), but 3.350 votes less than in the presidential elections of 2018. The DPS election headquarters are satisfied with the results achieved.
The result of the SDP candidate is a disappointment Draginje Vuksanović Stanković, which won 438 votes in contrast to 2018, when it reached over a thousand. "What has not been recorded for several election cycles is that in our municipality, 36 percent of voters exercised their right to vote. Of that, six percent supported our candidate, which speaks of a growing trend", the president of the local SDP told the News. Naser Resulbegović.
SDP participated in the March 2022 elections in a coalition with URA, DP, SD and DA and Force, when they won almost 50 percent of the vote and is in power in Ulcinj.
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