In the second round of the presidential elections in Montenegro, the representative of the Europe Now party won Yakov Milatovich.
Data from the Center for Monitoring and Research (CeMI), based on a 100% sample, show that DPS (Democratic Party of Socialists) presidential candidate Milo Djukanovic won 40% of the vote, while Europe Now Movement candidate Jakov Milatovic won 60% of the vote.
According to the State Election Commission (SEC), the turnout was 69,3%. In absolute numbers, Milatović garnered around 230 votes and Djukanović nearly 000 votes.
Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) candidate Milo Djukanovic congratulated Jakov Milatovic on his victory in the presidential election.
“Montenegro has made its choice. I respect this choice. I congratulate Yakov Milatovich on the confidence he received in the elections. I wish him to be a successful president, because if he is a successful president, then Montenegro will also be successful,” Djukanovic said in his speech.
He also thanked all the citizens who trusted him, and noted that it is important for Montenegro to make the next choice in the parliamentary elections scheduled for June 11.
Yakov Milatovich, who won the second round of the presidential election, thanked all the citizens who used their right to vote and thus "added legitimacy to this democratic process."
“Montenegro took a decisive step forward tonight,” Milatovic said.
“She resolutely said goodbye to the outdated regime of Đuaknović and took a step forward towards a richer, brighter, equal, eternal and European Montenegro. Good luck to us," he added.
Yakov Milatovic is the new president of Montenegro
Yakov Milatovich (37 years old) was born in Podgorica (Titograd). Graduated from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Montenegro. He later received a master's degree in economics from the University of Oxford. Yakov Milatovich is fluent in English, Italian and Spanish. He is married and has three children.
Economic career
He started his career at NLB Bank and then at Deutsche Bank in Germany in the credit risk assessment department. Since 2014, he has worked at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, in the department of economic and political analysis. In 2019, he was appointed Chief Economist for the EU countries including Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia and worked from the Bank's office in Bucharest.
Political career
Yakov Milatovich returned to Montenegro in 2020 at the invitation of Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic and took up the post of Minister of Economy. After the Government of Krivokapich was issued vote of no confidence in 2022 Yakov Milatovich resigned. In September 2022, together with former finance minister Milojko Spaić, he founded the center-right movement Europe Now! (Europe Now), which ran in the 2022 local elections. Milatović headed the electoral list of organizations in Podgorica as a mayoral candidate.
In March 2023, Milatović ran as Europe's Now candidate for the 2023 presidential election in Montenegro. He was elected President after his landslide victory over incumbent President Milo Djukanovic in the second round on April 2, 2023.
Cover photo: kurir.rs
