Page 62 - Central & Southeast Outlook 2020

After the October 2016 election, all the opposition parties decided to boycott parliament sessions, demanding the cancellation of the result and new elections. Since then, some of the opposition MPs have returned to the parliament.
In early 2019, Montenegro faced protests against corruption organised by an informal group of intellectuals under the slogan “97,000 - resist!”. They accused Djukanovic of being responsible for the poor status of human rights and media freedom in the country, as well as for widespread top-level corruption.
The last general election in 2016 was overshadowed by revelations of a thwarted coup plot planned by the pro-Russian opposition Democratic Front (DF), which aimed to seize power and either imprison or assassinate Djukanovic, with the help of Russian security services members and Serbian paramilitaries. Montenegrins have since been gripped by the “trial of the century” as the trial of those suspected of plotting the coup was dubbed.
In May 2019, the court found two opposition leaders, two Russians and several Serbs and Montenegrins guilty of plotting the coup and sentenced them to jail. It was suggested that Moscow has financed and organised the coup.
Montenegro’s formerly friendly relations with Russia have soured, and the country became Nato’s newest member in 2017. It is working towards EU membership and could join the bloc as soon as 2025.
2.9 ​Politics- Romania
Romania underwent major political turmoil during the second half of 2019, which eventually diminished with the formation of a new government​led by the National Liberal Party (PNL) on November 5 and the victory of the new government’s political sponsor, President Klaus Iohannis, in the presidential elections on November 24.
This should provide certain stability ahead of the local (June 7) and general elections in the autumn of 2020 ​— i​f they are not held early ​— but the government’s capacity to pursue major economic reforms remains limited given the electoral context.
The PNL-led government under Prime Minister Ludovic Orban is backed by several formerly opposition parties and individual MPs, which came together to oust the latest Social Democratic Party (PSD) led government led by Viorica Dancila. However, there are already numerous sources of conflict among the parties that backed the government which are likely to intensify as term general elections approach in 2020. With the PSD still a major political force with great potential to put the new government under pressure, early elections cannot be ruled out.
62​ CESE Outlook 2020​ ​ ​www.intellinews.com