Podgorica, 3 April 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Initial forecasts say economist Jakov Milatovic, backed by pro-Serbian groups, has won the presidential election in Montenegro.

Election research institute Cemi said he won 60.1% of the vote, after 62.7% of the votes had been counted.

Pro-Western incumbent Milo Djukanovic received 39.9% of the vote, the institute said.

The loss of the vote means Djukanovic, who has shaped the nation's politics for more than three decades, has lost his last position of power.

Milatovic is closely aligned with the Serbian Orthodox Church, which is controlled from Belgrade. He was economy minister in the short-lived pro-Serbian government that held office from December 2020 to April 2021.

After the end of this cabinet, he and others founded the new party Europe Now! which is committed to the country's aspiration to join the European Union, but also seeks to maintain close ties to Serbia.