In Montenegro election, youthful ex-minister Milatović beats longtime …

Former Economy Minister Jakov Milatovic is set to become the next president of Montenegro. Milatovic, who campaigned on a pro-EU and anti-corruption platform, won around 60 percent of the vote in Sunday's presidential runoff according to local pollsters. Milatovic, who used to be part of the current coalition government, successfully defeated the Balkan republic's long-standing incumbent, Milo Dukanovic, who has held various positions of power for the past three decades.

Dukanovic has conceded defeat. Milatovic was jubilant. "Tonight is the night we have been waiting for over 30 years. I wish you a happy victory," Milatovic told supporters of his center-right Europe Now movement on Sunday evening, according to Reuters.

You may like

"Within the next five years, we will lead Montenegro into the European Union," he added.

Although the presidential role is mostly a ceremonial position in Montenegro, where most of the political power rests with the prime minister, the presidential runoff's results are expected to boost the winning party's chances in the next snap parliamentary elections in June. Milatovic, an Oxford-educated 36-year-old, defeated Dukanovic, a 61-year-old former communist who had been in power as prime minister or president almost continuously since 1991. Dukanovic was an ally of Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, before he broke with Milosevic in 1997 over disagreements about the country's international isolation.

Dukanovic has accused the current government -- which Milatovic used to be part of -- of hosting pro-Serbian and pro-Russian elements, which it denies.

Montenegro has been mired in political instability, most notably last year when the government collapsed over a controversial agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church. 

Dukanovic will remain in office until the handover on May 21.