Voters in Montenegro choose president in test for long-serving ruling coalition

PODGORICA, Montenegro – Voters in Montenegro are choosing a president between the government-backed incumbent and an opposition leader who has demanded that NATO apologize for the 1999 bombing of the country while it was still part of Serb-led Yugoslavia.

The presidential election Sunday is viewed as a popularity test for Montenegro's governing coalition which has ruled the tiny Balkan nation for more than two decades amid economic troubles and high unemployment.

President Filip Vujanovic is seeking his second term since Montenegro gained independence in 2006. Vujanovic is a strong advocate of Montenegro's integration into the European Union and NATO.

The challenger, Miodrag Lekic, is a former ambassador-turned opposition leader, who has urged for a referendum on NATO membership and an apology for the 78-day bombing that halted the war in Kosovo.