| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Skupstina / Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
10 September 2006 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all members of the Parliament. |
Following a positive vote by referendum in May 2006, the Montenegrin parliament formally declared independence of the Republic of Montenegro from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro on 3 June 2006. On 11 July, President Filip Vujanovic called elections for 10 September 2006 to elect an enlarged 81-member parliament (see note 1) that would be tasked with adopting a new constitution for the country.
In the last elections held in October 2002, when Montenegro was still part of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, a pro-independence coalition led by the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) had won 39 of the 75 seats in parliament. The Socialist People's Party (SNP) had taken 19 seats.
In 2006, 747 candidates and 12 political parties contested the elections. The DPS, led by Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, formed the Coalition for a European Montenegro with the Social Democratic Party (SDP). The DPS called on voters' support for Montenegro's integration into the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The opposition was led by two coalitions which had campaigned against independence. The SNP, which had been formed in 1998 by former members of the DPS, formed the Coalition SNP-NS-DSS, with the People's Party (NS) and the Democratic Serb Party (DSS). Although the SNP had rejected the referendum results, it supported Montenegro's integration into the EU and NATO. The Serb People's Party (SNS) presented a coalition called the Serb List, comprising the Serbian Radical Party (SRS), the Democratic Party of Unity (DSJ), and the People's Socialist Party (NSS). The list was led by Mr. Andrija Mandic, who pledged to protect the rights of the Serbian community in Montenegro. Another anti-independence group, the Movement for Change, was led by an economist, Mr. Nebojsa Medojevic.
The reform of national institutions was one of the main issues in the 2006 elections. The DPS called for the abolition of compulsory military service and the full professionalization of the army. The Serb List argued that 32 per cent of professional posts in the Montenegrin army should be reserved for ethnic Serbs (see note 2).
Approximately 72 per cent of the 484,000 registered voters turned out at the polls.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) reported that the elections had been "largely in line with international standards", but noted some "challenges", such as the arrests and interrogation of candidates on the eve of the vote.
The Coalition for a European Montenegro (DPS-SDP) won 41 of the 81 seats. The Serb List obtained 12 seats, with the SRS returning to parliament after more than a decade of absence. The SNP-NS-DSS Coalition and the Movement for Change took 11 seats each. The Liberal Party-Bosniak Party Coalition won three seats. The remainder went to small parties representing the Albanian community (see note 3).
The newly-elected Parliament held its first session on 2 October 2006, and re-elected Mr. Ranko Krivokapic as its Speaker.
Note 1
The statutory number of members of parliament has been increased from 75 to 81 based on the electoral law, which stipulates that there should be one parliamentarian for every 6,000 voters.
Note 2
The ethnic composition of the population of Montenegro is as follows: Montenegrin (43 per cent); Serb (32 per cent); Bosnian (eight per cent); Albanian (five per cent); Muslim (four per cent) and Croat (one per cent).
Source: The World Factbook (https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/)
Note 3
Five seats are reserved for members of the ethnic Albanian community. The following parties won one seat each:
- Democratic Union of Albanians;
- A coalition of the Democratic League of Albanians and the Party of Democratic Prosperity; and
- Albanian Alternative.
Two members of the Albanian community were elected under the banner of the Coalition for a European Montenegro. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 10 September 2006 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
484'430
349'014 (72.05%)
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Coalition for a European Montenegro (DPS-SDP) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Serb List |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Coalition SNP-NS-DSS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Movement for Change |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Liberal Party - Bosniak Party Coalition |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Union of Albanians |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Coalition of the Democratic League of Albanians and Party of Democratic Prosperity |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Albanian Alternative |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Coalition for a European Montenegro (DPS-SDP) |
41
|
|
|
|
|
| Serb List |
12
|
|
|
|
|
| Coalition SNP-NS-DSS |
11
|
|
|
|
|
| Movement for Change |
11
|
|
|
|
|
| Liberal Party - Bosniak Party Coalition |
3
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Union of Albanians |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Coalition of the Democratic League of Albanians and Party of Democratic Prosperity |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Albanian Alternative |
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
74
7
8.64%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- CEMI - The Monitoring Centre (12.09.2006, 15.09.2006, 16.10.2006)
- Parliament (01.01.2008) |
|
A historical Archive of past election results for this chamber can be found on a separate page