January 19 (SeeNews) - Montenegro's parliament speaker Ivan Brajovic said on Friday the country will hold presidential elections on April 15.
"I believe the election will be held in a positive and democratic atmosphere," Brajovic said, as quoted in a statement by the country's parliament.
Candidates can submit an application signed by at least 7,700 citizens to participate in the elections no later than March 26, the parliament said.
Montenegro has a two-round presidential election system. If no candidate wins an absolute majority in the first round, the front-runner will face the second-placed candidate in a run-off vote two weeks later.
In December, Montenegrin entrepreneur Vasilije Milickovic said he plans to participate in the elections claiming the support of opposition parties.
In October, the president of the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), Milo Djukanovic, who was president of Montenegro between 1998 and 2002, rejected the possibility of running in the elections.
The incumbent president of Montenegro, Filip Vujanovic, was reelected in the first round of the 2013 presidential election with 51.2% of the vote. Vujanovic is ineligible in the April elections as under the Montenegrin Constitution each president can serve up to two terms in office.