President Milo Djukanovic called for a snap election in Montenegro for a "responsible and efficient government," further escalating the ongoing political crisis in the Balkan country.
The turmoil was aggravated since a 2020 vote won by a Church-backed coalition that inflicted a historic defeat on Djukanovic's Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS).
In August, parliament passed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic's pro-Western minority government, just six months after another coalition government composed mainly of right-wing and pro-Russian parties collapsed in the same way.
Political tensions have been smoldering for weeks after the government in early August signed a controversial deal with the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), which includes a regulatory framework for the hundreds of SPC-owned churches, monasteries and other properties.
Djukanovic and some Montenegrins accuse the SPC of serving Serbia's interests.
Religious issues have been a perennial flashpoint in Montenegro, with past governments toppled over disputes involving the SPC.
On Monday, a group of parties led by the pro-Russian Democratic Front (DF) asked Djukanovic to name moderate deputy and former top diplomat Miodrag Lekic prime minister-designate.
But Djukanovic instead asked the parliamentary speaker to end its four-year mandate early, paving the way for an early election in a country grappling with rampant inflation.
It is an "optimal solution in the given political situation ... since it opens up the possibility of organizing early parliamentary elections as soon as possible," he said.
"The regional and global context, as well as the political and security challenges, economic and financial problems faced by Montenegro ... require a competent, responsible and efficient government," Djukanovic said.
However, the majority of lawmakers in the 81-seat assembly have to approve his proposal. Montenegro, a NATO member and a candidate to join the European Union, broke away from Serbia in 2006.
However, a third of its population of 620,000 identify as Serbs and some say Montenegro should not be a separate country. Djukanovic, an architect of Montenegro's independence, has been pressing for an early election for weeks.
