Social Democratic Party Socijaldemokratska partija Социјалдемократска партија | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President | Ivan Vujović |
| Honorary President | Ranko Krivokapić |
| Founders | Žarko Rakčević Ljubiša Stanković Dragiša Burzan |
| Founded | 12 June 1993 |
| Headquarters | Podgorica |
| Youth wing | Forum mladih SDP Crne Gore |
| Ideology | Montenegrin nationalism Pro-Europeanism Social democracy[1] |
| Political position | Centre-left[2] |
| European affiliation | Party of European Socialists(associate) |
| International affiliation | Progressive Alliance[3] Socialist International[4] |
| Parliament | 0 / 81 |
| Mayors | 1 / 25 |
| Local Parliaments | 26 / 844 |
| Website | |
| sdp.co.me | |
Social Democratic Party of Montenegro (Montenegrin:Социјалдемократска партија Црне Горе,romanized: Socijaldemokratska partija Crne Gore; or just theSocial Democratic Party, abbr.SDP) is anationalist andsocial democraticpolitical party inMontenegro. It is the only party in Montenegro to have full membership in theSocialist International. From 1998 until the 2016coalition split, it was a minor coalition partner of theDemocratic Party of Socialists, that led Montenegro from the introduction of the multi-party system until the2020 Montenegrin parliamentary election.
On 14 July 1991, members ofUnion of Reform Forces of Yugoslavia (SRSJ) from four coastal municipalities in theSR Montenegro,Herceg Novi,Kotor,Tivat andBudva, who were subsequently joined by reformists fromCetinje, formed the first regional Montenegrin political party - theAlliance of Reformists of the Montenegrin Coastline with Miodrag Marović as President. On 7 July 1992, the League united with Žarko Rakčević's Party of Socialists desiring to create a major Montenegrin party, forming theSocial Democratic Party of Reformists (SDPR). Finally, on 12 June 1993, theSocial Democratic Party of Reformists merged with theSocialist Party of Montenegro forming theSocial Democratic Party of Montenegro, which was joined by smaller groups like theIndependent Organization of Communists ofBar, theAlliance of Reform forces of Yugoslavia for Montenegro and theParty of National Tolerance and uniting the forces that opposed the policies of theMilošević regime during theYugoslav wars. Eventually,Yugoslav People's Party andOld Yugoslav People's Party also merged into SDP in the following years. Notable founders includeŽarko Rakčević,Dragiša Burzan andLjubiša Stanković.[5]
When the policies of the rulingDemocratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro (DPS) turned towards the goal of full independence for Montenegro, DPS and SDP started working closely together to achieve this goal. Allying itself with the DPS and Đukanović ahead of the1998 parliamentary elections allowed the SDP to enter the parliament for the first time in its history. Since the 1998 election, SDP has continued to a minor coalition partner of DPS and a part of everyMontenegrin government between 1998 and 2015. The goal of restoration of the Montenegrin independence was achieved following the victory in areferendum held on 21 May 2006.President of the Parliament of Montenegro from 2003 to 2016,Ranko Krivokapić, officially proclaimed the independence of Montenegro on 3 June 2006.
Following the shift of the party towards a more critical and independent political course, in Autumn 2015 the pro-DPS faction of SDP formed a new party namedSocial Democrats of Montenegro (SD). On 22 January 2016, SDP officially left the rulingcoalition with DPS and announced its support for a vote of no confidence against the government ofMilo Đukanović on 25 January 2016. In the following2016 parliamentary election SDP ran independently for the first time since 1996, and retained its parliamentary status, winning 5.23% of votes.
At the2018 presidential elections, SDP nominated its MPDraginja Vuksanović, who was the first female presidential candidate in the history of Montenegro. Vuksanović finished third, winning 8.2% of the votes.[6] On 29 June 2019, after Krivokapić resignation, Vuksanović was elected new president of the Party, making her the only female president of a Montenegrin political party, at the time. On this occasion, former President Krivokapic has been named honorary president.
| Election | Party leader | Performance | Alliance | Government | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | +/– | ||||
| 1992[a] | Miodrag Marović | 13.002 | 4.10% | 4 / 85 | New | — | Opposition |
| 1996 | Žarko Rakčević | 16,708 | 5.66% | 0 / 71 |  4 | — | Extra-parliamentary |
| 1998 | 170,080 | 48.87% | 5 / 78 |  5 | ECG | Coalition | |
| 2001 | 153,946 | 42.04% | 6 / 77 | 1 | ECG | Coalition | |
| 2002 | Ranko Krivokapić | 167,166 | 48.0% | 7 / 75 | 1 | ECG | Coalition |
| 2006 | 164,737 | 48.62% | 7 / 81 | 0 | ECG | Coalition | |
| 2009 | 168,290 | 51.9% | 9 / 81 | 2 | ECG | Coalition | |
| 2012 | 165,380 | 45.60% | 6 / 81 | 3 | ECG | Coalition2012–15 | |
| Opposition2015–16 | |||||||
| 2016 | 20,011 | 5.23% | 4 / 81 | 2 | — | Opposition | |
| 2020 | Draginja Vuksanović | 12,835 | 3.14% | 2 / 81 | 2 | — | Opposition2020–22 |
| Coalition2022 | |||||||
| Opposition2022–23 | |||||||
| 2023 | Raško Konjević | 9,010 | 2.98% | 0 / 81 | 2 | — | Extra-parliamentary |
| Election year | Candidate | # | 1st round votes | % | # | 2nd round votes | % | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Milo Đukanović | 2nd | 145,348 | 46.71% | 1st | 174,745 | 50.79 | DPS, support |
| 2003 | Filip Vujanović | 1st | 139,574 | 64.2% | N/a | — | — | ECG, support |
| 2008 | Filip Vujanović | 1st | 171,118 | 51.89% | N/a | — | — | ECG, support |
| 2018 | Draginja Vuksanović | 3rd | 27,441 | 8.20% | N/a | — | — | |
| 2023 | Draginja Vuksanović | 5th | 10,669 | 3.15% | — | — | — |
Major positions held by Social Democratic Party of Montenegro members:
| President of the Parliament of Montenegro | Years |
|---|---|
| Ranko Krivokapić | 2003–2016 |
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