Montenegro ruling party claims victory

PODGORICA, Montenegro — Montenegro’s ruling party declared leader Milo Djukanovic the winner of Sunday’s presidential election after preliminary projections showed he swept the vote and avoided a runoff.

The Center for Monitoring and Research said after a near-complete vote count that Djukanovic won nearly 54 percent while his main opponent, Mladen Bojanic, won 33 percent.

If confirmed in the official vote count, the result will present a major boost for Djukanovic, who defied Russia to take his country into NATO last year.

The vote, the first since Montenegro joined the Western military alliance in December, was seen as a test for Djukanovic, who favors European integration over closer ties to traditional ally Moscow.

Bojanic, who was backed by several opposition groups, including pro-Russian ones, vowed to continue his struggle against Djukanovic, describing him as “the man holding Montenegro and its institutions hostage.”

Djukanovic, the country’s dominant politician, and his Democratic Party of Socialists have ruled Montenegro for nearly 30 years. President Filip Vujanovic of that party was not running because of term limits.

Information for this article was contributed by Choe Sang-Hun of The New York Times; and by staff members of The Associated Press.

AP/RISTO BOZOVIC Milo Djukanovic, leader of Montenegro’s ruling Democratic Party of Socialists, and wife Lidija cast their ballots Sunday at the polling station in the capital, Podgorica, during the country’s presidential election.