April 29 (SeeNews) - Montenegro's parliament endorsed a minority government led by Dritan Abazovic, leader of the social-liberal United Reform Action (URA) party, it said.
The parliament's decision comes three months after the coalition government led by prime minister Zdravko Krivokapic lost a no-confidence vote.
The new government has a total of 18 ministries and includes representatives of URA, the Socialist People’s Party (SNP), the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and the minority Bosniak Party and Albanian Coalition, parliament said in a statement late on Thursday.
The formation of the new government was supported by the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) - a party led by Montenegro's president and former prime minister Milo Djukanovic, although it has no representatives in it.
A total of 45 MPs in Montenegro's 81-seat Parliament supported the new government and three voted against, as representatives of the Democratic Front (DF), Peace is Our Nation and the Movement for Changes did not participate in the session.
"I believe that Montenegro can request an accelerated accession and that it can soon become a full member of the EU with urgent but wise decisions. This is our most important goal," Abazovic said during the debate leading up to vote.
The parliament also elected Danijela Djurovic from SNP as speaker.
"Welcome the new government of Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic in Montenegro. Looking forward to our joint work for tangible progress on EU path. Montenegro is a trusted partner, fully aligned with the EU’s foreign policy," Josep Borrell, the high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy, said in a Twitter shortly after the vote.
Abazovic was deputy prime minister of the government of Krivokapic. In February, he filed a no-confidence motion against the government of Krivokapic over stalled EU accession process and the influence of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro's domestic affairs. Krivokapic lost the no-confidence vote.