#MONTENEGRO: Longtime President Ousted In Election By Ex-Economy Minister

[world politics news]

Former Economic Minister Jakov Milatovic is the new president of Montenegro, He ousts President Milo Djukanovic, who had held power for over 30 years in the Balkan nation.

CeMI : Based on 80.7% of the processed sample, the results are as follows:

Jakov Milatovic: 60.2%

Milo Djukanovic: 39.8%

Nominally pro Western, Milatovic Is supported by Serbian nationalists and pro Russian parties.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#MONTENEGRO: Parliament Votes No Confidence in Cabinet

[world politics news]

Montenegro's parliament passed a no-confidence motion on the cabinet of Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic, proposed by 36 deputies to protest the signing of a long-disputed deal regulating ties with the powerful Serbian Orthodox Church.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#MONTENEGRO: Parliament Approves Minority Pro-EU Gov't

[world politics news]

Montenegrin lawmakers have approved a new, pro-Western government that promised to speed up European Union integration and make an effort to bridge a deep political divide in the small Balkan nation.

The government of Prime Minister Dritan Abazović won support from 45 lawmakers in the 81-member parliament, with three votes against. Pro-Serb groups did not attend the session.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#MONTENEGRO: Parliament Approves Civil Partnerships For Gay And Lesbian Couples

[world politics news]

Parliament in Montenegro has voted to legalize same-sex civil partnerships, becoming the first country in the region that is not a member of the European Union to recognize gay and lesbian couples in law.

Parliament passed the law with a very narrow majority of MPs from the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, the Social Democrats, the Liberal Party and the opposition Social Democratic Party. The vote was 42 to 5 in the 81-seat chamber.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#MONTENEGRO: New Law Would Force Churches To Prove Ownership Of Pre-World War One Properties

[world politics news]

The Montenegrin parliament passed the controversial Freedom of Religious Law amid chaotic scenes on Friday, despite fierce objections from the Serbian Orthodox Church, its supporters and pro-Serbian opposition parties.

Under the law, religious communities will have to provide clear evidence of their Pre-World War I ownership in order to retain their properties, a provision that the Serbian Church says is designed to allow the government to strip it of its holdings, since surviving documentation from that era is nearly non-existent.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#MONTENEGRO: Prosecutor Says Russian Government Was Behind 2016 Coup Attempt, Russia Denies

[world politics news]

Russia has struck back against allegations that it was involved in an attempted coup during Montenegro's election last year, ridiculing them as "absurd" and unsubstantiated. A Montenegrin prosecutor has accused "Russian state bodies" of playing a role in an attempted putsch with the aim of stopping the Balkan country from joining NATO. Plans were to shoot the prime minister and install a pro-Russian party as a puppet government, he said.

[FULL STORY HERE]

Pictured: Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Đjukanović

#KOSOVO: EU Will Hold Up Kosovo Visa Deal Until Montenegro Border Normalization

[world politics news]

Unless Kosovo approves a border demarcation deal with neighboring Montenegro, it can’t enjoy EU visa liberalization, says an EU official. Opposition lawmakers, who are against the deal, have disrupted parliamentary work by using tear gas canisters, blowing whistles and throwing water bottles. Street rallies by opposition supporters routinely turn into violent clashes with police. EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn says its political polarization is negatively affecting its integration path into the 28-nation bloc.

[FULL STORY HERE]