Leader Ranko Krivokapić Political position Centre-left | Founded 1993 | |
Headquarters Jovana Tomaševića bb, Podgorica Ideology Social democracy
Pro-Europeanism
Left-wing nationalism European affiliation Party of European Socialists | ||
The Social Democratic Party of Montenegro (SDP) (Montenegrin: Социјалдемократска партија Црне Горе, Socijaldemokratska Partija Crne Gore) is a political party in Montenegro.
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Although the SDP has the support of approximately 12% of the Montenegrin electorate, it has nevertheless managed to play a more notable part in the republic's political scene during the last decade and a half. The party's prominence stems from its close relations with the most powerful party in Montenegro - the DPS and its leader Milo Đukanović. Allying itself with the DPS and Đukanović ahead of the 1998 parliamentary elections allowed the SDP to enter the parliament for the very first time in its history - something it had been unable to do by itself in three previous attempts. Since the 1998 election, the SDP has continued to be a part of every Đukanović-led pre-election coalition and as a result has also been a part of every Montenegrin government since 1998.
At the legislative elections in March 2009, the party emerged victorious as part of the DPS-SDP list that won 48 seats from a total of 81 in the Parliament. The SDP won 9 seats from the list.
At the last parliamentary elections on 14 October 2012, the SDP was again part of the Coalition for a European Montenegro led by Đukanović, which won 39 of the 81 seats. The SDP won 6 seats of the 39.
In autumn 2015 the pro-government faction of SDP formed a new party named Social Democrats of Montenegro (SD CG). On 22 January 2016 SDP officially left the ruling coalition with the DPS and announced its support for a vote of no confidence against the government of Milo Đukanović on 25 January.
History
On 14 July 1991 reformists from four coastal municipalities in the SR Montenegro, Herceg-Novi, Kotor, Tivat and Budva, who were subsequently joined by reformists from Cetinje, formed the first regional Montenegrin political party - the Alliance 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 the Social Democratic Party of Reformists of Montenegro. Finally, on 12 June 1993 the Independent Organization of Communists of Bar, the Alliance of Reform forces of Yugoslavia for Montenegro and the Party of National Tolerance merged into it, forming the Social Democratic Party of Montenegro and uniting the forces that opposed the then regimes policies in the Yugoslav wars. Finally, over the years the Yugoslavian People's Party and the old Yugoslavian People's Party merged into the SDP.
Notable SDP founders were Žarko Rakčević, Ljubiša Stanković and Dušan Simonović. It is the only party in Montenegro to have full membership of the Socialist International.
When the policies of the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro turned towards the goal of full independence for Montenegro the DPS and SDP started working closely together to achieve this goal. They eventually succeeded when the independence movement achieved victory in a referendum held on 21 May 2006. Current president of the SDP and Speaker of the Montenegrin Parliament, Ranko Krivokapić, officially proclaimed the independence of Montenegro on June 3, 2006.