The European Montenegro coalition led by Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic won the early parliamentary elections in Montenegro on Sunday, securing 49out of the 81 seats in the second parliament since the Balkan country's independence in 2006, according to preliminary results announced by monitoring NGOs.

Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic casts his vote at Montenegro's parliamentary elections in Podgorica March 29, 2009. The early parliamentary elections kicked off on Sunday in Montenegro as the seven coalitions and nine independent parties are vying for 81 seats in the second parliament since the Balkan country's independence in 2006. [Xinhua/Lian Guohui]

Supporters of the coalition began to celebrate their victory at the election headquarters and on the streets in Podgorica on Sunday evening.

The Center for Monitoring (CEMI) said that the coalition led by Djukanovic and his ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) claimed some 52.6 percent of the ballots cast.

The four-party European Montenegro coalition also includes the Social Democratic Party (SDP), a long-time DPS ally, and two parties of ethnic minorities -- the Croatian Civil Initiative and the Bosniak Party.

The polling stations closed at 9 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) after 13 hours of voting. According to the Center for Democratic Transition (CDT), the turnout among the nearly 500,000 registered voters reached 65.2 percent, less than the turnout of 70.3 percent at the last elections in 2006.

The fragmented opposition suffered a catastrophic defeat in the elections, with the largest party among them, the Socialist People's Party, claiming at most 16 seats.

(Xinhua News Agency March 30, 2009)