Parliamentary Elections in Montenegro to Kick Off Sunday

Parliamentary elections will commence in the Balkan state of Montenegro on Sunday with 17 parties on the ballot.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The national unicameral parliament, the Skupstina, has 81 seats which will be distributed through the elections in a single nationwide constituency.

According to the September pre-election polls, the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro (DPS) will receive the majority of votes, as it did in 2012.

Apart from the ruling party, more than 10 percent of the votes are expected to be gathered by the newly-formed Key Coalition and the Democratic Front (DF) coalition which was established before the previous elections in 2012.

New Serb Democracy (NOVA) and Movement for Changes (PzP) represent DF's largest members, while Key Coalition is composed of the Socialist People's Party (SNP), the Democratic Alliance (DEMOS) and the United Reform Action (URA).

The ruling party is pro-NATO while most of the opposition parties are not in favor of becoming a member of the military block. For the Balkan nation with a population of 600,000 people, the issue of accession to NATO is a hot foreign policy topic.

In May, NATO foreign ministers signed an accession protocol paving the way for Montenegro to join the military bloc. The US Senate held a hearing to discuss Montenegro’s membership, which it must approve.