Montenegro elects pro-West president Milo Djukanovic, projections show

Montenegro appears to have elected a president vying to develop closer ties with the West, according to initial projections.

The Balkan nation's ruling social democrat party declared its head Milo Djukanovic the winner after 90% of the votes were counted, winning 53% of the ballots.

Djukanovic, who has previously served as president and prime minister, faced off several other candidates.

In 2016, he defied Russia by spearheading Montenegro's accession to NATO.

He now plans to gain membership to the European Union.

The vote, the first since Montenegro joined NATO, was seen as a test for Mr Djukanovic and his bid for European integration.

Russia launched a failed bid last year to derail Montenegro's negotiations with the bloc.

According to some reports, this included a Russian plan to assassinate Mr Djukanovic.

After the initial projections, party officials described the vote as a "great victory, a historic victory".

About 530,000 voters were eligible to vote in the election.