Presidential elections were held in Montenegro, then a constituent republic of Yugoslavia, on 5 October 1997. A second round run-off was held on 19 October 1997. Although incumbent President Momir BulatoviÃÂ, who was supportive of Yugoslavian President Slobodan Miloà ¡eviÃÂ, received a plurality of the vote in the first round, he was defeated in the second round by Prime Minister Milo ÃÂukanoviÃÂ.
Despite OCSE recognising the elections as being "generally fair", BulatoviÃÂ claimed the elections had been fraudulent and refused to recognise the result. Amid violent protests, ÃÂukanoviÃÂ was sworn into office in January 1998.
The 1997 presidential election in Montenegro took place just months after the schism in the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), which occurred on July 11, 1997, after which Bulatoviàwas replaced by Milica PejanoviÃÂ-ÃÂurià ¡iÃÂ. After the removal of Bulatoviàfrom presidency of DPS, ÃÂukanoviàbecame nominated as the party's candidate, Likewise, Bulatoviàdecided to run as well, with the backing of his loyalists who were not sympathetic to the new DPS leadership. However, article 5 of the electoral law restricted each party to nominating a single candidate. The Republican Election Commission allowed both candidates on the basis that Bulatoviàwas a member of the party registered at the federal level, whilst ÃÂukanoviàwas a member at the Montenegrin level.
Following a complaint from one faction of the DPS, the Constitutional Court overruled the REC on the basis that only parties registered in Montenegro could nominate candidates. BulatoviÃÂ subsequently appealed to the Federal Constitutional Court. Although the court declined his appeal, it also abolished article 5 of the electoral law, allowing BulatoviÃÂ to compete.
The elections were nominally boycotted by several opposition parties, including the People's Party, the Liberal Alliance, the Party of Democratic Action, the Democratic League, the Democratic Union of Albanians and the Social Democratic Party. However, a majority of Liberal Alliance members supported ÃÂukanoviÃÂ in the election as they saw BulatoviÃÂ as a greater obstacle to their ideological goal, Montenegro's independence and eventual secession from Yugoslavia.
A total of eight candidates participated in the first round of the election, although ÃÂukanoviÃÂ and BulatoviÃÂ were overwhelming favorites to qualify for the second round.
All eight candidates appeared in a televised debate before the first round. The debate was aired on both state television and radio stations.
Dragan HajdukoviÃÂ, one of the candidates in the first round, had lived in Switzerland from the breakup of Yugoslavia up to 1997. During the schism of the Democratic Party of Socialists between ÃÂukanoviÃÂ and BulatoviÃÂ, HajdukoviÃÂ ultimately voiced support for ÃÂukanoviÃÂ. As a result, he was accused by the Liberal Alliance of acting as a DPS client before he declared his candidacy. He campaigned on the immediate secession of Montenegro from Yugoslavia, stating in the summer of 1997 that "if Montenegro, from this day within the next six months, doesn't become independent, it never will." He campaigned on the idea of an "ecological state"-a concept he first touched on in 1990-promising 50,000 new jobs from eco-tourism, investments, specialization in healthy foods and "new technology".
AÃÂim Vià ¡njiàdeclared his candidacy after founding his own party, Otadà ¾binska stranka ("The Fatherland Party"), as he had been removed from the Serbian Radical Party. He campaigned on stronger federalization of Yugoslavia, arguing that there was no need for the constituent republics to have their own ministries of foreign affairs. When asked about how his platform differed from that of BulatoviÃÂ, Vià ¡njiàsaid that he "didn't show enough strength" and that "a weakling can't rule Montenegro."
Bulatoviàcampaigned significantly on his commitment to Yugoslavia and Miloà ¡eviÃÂ. One of his two campaign slogans was "Jugoslavija bez alternative", or "Yugoslavia without an alternative". BulatoviÃÂ's strongest base was in northern Montenegro. Additionally, Bulatoviàenjoyed logistical support from Serbia. ÃÂukanoviÃÂ, distancing himself from Bulatoviàand Miloà ¡eviÃÂ, emphasized a "European" and "reformist" portrayal. This image was supported by multiple western governments, who were indifferent to ÃÂukanoviÃÂ's liabilities as long as he was opposed to Miloà ¡eviÃÂ. ÃÂukanoviÃÂ, although appealing to secessionists, did not explicitly campaign on independence.
Rallies were employed by both candidates in the run-up to the election. On 1 October, ÃÂukanoviàspoke to supporters in Podgorica, telling them, "we will win because we cannot allow national-Bolshevism to become the official ideology of Montenegro. We will not allow the newly-formed à  eà ¡elj-Bulatoviàcoalition to tear apart and spoil Yugoslavia." Milica PejanoviÃÂ-ÃÂurià ¡iàparticipated in ÃÂukanoviÃÂ's campaign. On October 2, Bulatoviàspoke to supporters at Berane's stadium, where he told supporters that "the road followed by Mr. ÃÂukanoviàis not Montenegrin. He symbolises everything that Montenegro might become if Montenegro stops being Montenegro. That road is a road of lawlessness, despotism, immorality and lies."
The first round of voting took place on 5 October, with Bulatoviàreceiving the most votes but failing to win outright. On 7 October, the Liberal Alliance, which had initially boycotted the first round on a nominal basis, officially came out for ÃÂukanoviÃÂ, as the party produced a statement telling its members "we're certain that it's better to be in company with Yeltsin and Clinton than BulatoviÃÂ, Miloà ¡eviÃÂ, and à  eà ¡elj. With them [we] can only go to a new war against neighbors, into new and even greater misery and isolation." On 14 October, a final televised debate was aired on RTCG between ÃÂukanoviàand BulatoviÃÂ, where the two final candidates debated on various topics, including but not limited to control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, state funds for pensioners and the disabled, the "gray" economy, and Montenegro's role and status in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The second round of voting took place on 19 October, with ÃÂukanoviàwinning in an upset victory.
On 14 October, five days before the second round of the election, the Republic of Montenegro's police raided the Ljuboviàhotel in Podgorica, arresting 11 men under the pretext that they were paramilitary members from Belgrade and Novi Sad who plotted to assassinate ÃÂukanoviÃÂ. Vukaà ¡in Maraà ¡, a former UDBA operative and ÃÂukanoviÃÂ's security advisor at the time of the election, claimed to have personally discovered the plot. The Montenegrin police subsequently evacuated Vladimir KovaÃÂeviàand Petar Divjakoviàfrom Montenegro, who they asserted were the ringmasters of the plot. The remaining arrested individuals were claimed to be members of Yugoslavia's Red Berets, although none of them were armed at the time of their arrest; the police asserted that the arrested individuals were anticipating the procurement of arms from "a criminal group in Nikà ¡iÃÂ". The police released the Ljuboviàsuspects from custody almost immediately after ÃÂukanoviàwon the election and the High Court of Montenegro removed all charges against all persons involved in 2002.
ÃÂukanoviÃÂ's victory was unexpected and considered an upset even among those who supported him, as he turned around a deficit in a period of 14 days between the first and second voting rounds. A critical circumstance was a spike in the list of registered voters, which had increased by 10,235 in the two-week period between voting rounds.
BulatoviÃÂ immediately protested the election results, re-iterating grievances of electoral commission members who had been intimidated during the voting process. Additionally, ÃÂukanoviÃÂ's victory had enormous international implications, as Robert Gelbard explicitly stated that "the United States government supports the election of president-elect ÃÂukanoviÃÂ." On 12 January 1998, Gelbard visited Montenegro, where he condemned demonstrations against ÃÂukanoviÃÂ's inauguration. Gelbard claimed that BulatoviÃÂ promised him in person that he would recognize the election results. On 13 January 1998, BulatoviÃÂ told supporters in Podgorica that he spoke with Gelbard, stating, "I had the opportunity and privilege to speak with [Gelbard], and I asked him how do they know in America what we don't know in Montenegro? From where did this idea occur to the American administration, which is highly valued and influential, that we're preparing an armed rebellion and violence?" BulatoviÃÂ denied to the crowd that he had promised Gelbard to recognize the result. He ultimately rejected the election result, and asserted that the United States helped determine the outcome.
Additionally, BulatoviÃÂ claimed that US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was informed of the election result before the electoral commission made an announcement. He also claimed that the electoral judge had revealed personal details of intimidation.
With ÃÂukanoviÃÂ's inauguration scheduled on 15 January 1998, BulatoviÃÂ participated in mobilizing a demonstration in Podgorica on the night of 14 January. Thousands of protesters demonstrated near government buildings as well as the offices of TV Crna Gora and Pobjeda, where violent confrontations with the police ensued. According to government-operated daily Pobjeda, total of 55 people were injured during the riot that night, 45 of them being policemen and 10 civilians.