The governments of Albania and Kosovo have called on ethnic Albanians in Montenegro to vote for the Albanian parties in the August 30 parliamentary elections.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, the ministers of foreign affairs, Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla and Gent Cakaj stated that the Albanians’ representation in the Montenegrin parliament should improve through this weekend’s vote.
The ministers noted the close neighborly relations between Montenegro, Kosovo and Albania, the common strategic interests, shared values in relation to NATO and the European Union.
They stressed that the upcoming elections are very important for Montenegro’s Euro-Atlantic future.
“It is extremely important that the winners of this election are pro-Western forces,” they stated.
Haradinaj-Stublla and Cakaj urged Albanians to vote for the coalition of Albanian parties: “At such a crucial political moment, once again, we must be up to the task, being united around a single enterprise, the support of the Albanian List as an irreplaceable part of Montenegro’s Euro-Atlantic project.”
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama also warned of the need for support for pro-Western parties in his endorsement of Montenegro’s governing Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) of President Milo Djukanovic.
About 5 percent of the over 600 thousand population of Montenegro are of Albanian ethnicity. They are currently represented by one MP in the 81-seat parliament.
Five Albanians parties in Montenegro have for the first time formed “the Albanian List” coalition, and agreed to run with a joint list in the August 30 parliamentary elections.
The ruling DPS has warned that Montenegro’s independence is at stake in this election. They claim the country is facing attempts by Serbia and Russia to bring nationalist and anti-Western allies to power.
Serbs in Montenegro comprise about 30 percent of the population.
President Milo Djukanovic alleged that “a media and political war is being waged” against him and DPS, to bring Montenegro “under the umbrella of Belgrade and Moscow” and prevent it from joining the EU.
In 2019, a Montenegro court found 14 people guilty of a coup attempt in 2016, which planned to take over the parliament, kill the prime minister and set up a pro-Russia and anti-NATO leadership. The defendants were Russian, Serbian and Montenegrin citizens.
