Albanian Leader in Montenegro Wants Minorities in Government

"If we reach an agreement about our program principles, for their implementation we must have representatives in state institutions. But above all, the principles are the priority."

Minorities ready to abandon DPSLeaders of Albanian coalition The time is now.Photo:Albanian Alternative

The Time is Now and Unanimously, both ethnic Albanian coalitions, hold one seat each in parliament.  A mathematics teacher by trade, Gjeloshaj became a local political star in March 2019 when he was elected the first mayor of the restored municipality of Tuzi, his native town near the border with Albania. Tuzi once enjoyed the status of a municipality but lost it in 1957 when Montenegro was part of the federal Yugoslavia.

Administered as an outlying district of the capital, Podgorica, Tuzi's 3,000 inhabitants long wanted to run their own affairs again. After much pressure, the government restored Tuzi's municipal status in 2018.

The three main opposition blocs negotiating to form the government have pledged to honor Montenegro's international commitments, such as membership of NATO, and to keep the country on the path to membership of the European Union, goals that are strongly supported by the ethnic Albanian minority. They have also given assurances that Montenegro will not reverse its recognition of Kosovo as an independent.

Gjeloshaj's call for cooperation follows that of the party representing the Bosniak minority with three seats in parliament. Other ethnic Albanian representatives have also said they are open to negotiations.

Montenegro is a multi-ethnic state unusual in the Balkans in having no overwhelmingly dominant community. Some 45 percent of the country's 650,000 people identify as Montenegrin, 29 percent as Serb, 4...