MONTENEGRO has begun voting in a presidential election tipped to give the incumbent, Filip Vujanovic, a third mandate that would cement the ruling coalition's grip on power in the economically struggling Balkan state aiming to join the European Union.
Vujanovic, a close ally of veteran Montenegrin leader Milo Djukanovic, faces a sole challenger: former foreign minister Miodrag Lekic, who has managed to get the main opposition groups to overcome their bickering and back his candidacy.
The vote for president, a largely ceremonial role in Montenegro, is the country's second since proclaiming independence from Serbia, its decades-long partner, in 2006.
But it is seen as the test for long-serving Djukanovic's ruling coalition that has been in power since the break-up of the former Yugoslavia in 1990s.
Vujanovic, a 58-year old lawyer, has promised voters to focus on strengthening Montenegro as a "democratic developed country" in order to boost its efforts to join the European Union and NATO.
"My new mandate will be focused on Montenegro's European integration," said Vujanovic during the campaign.
Brussels opened EU accession talks with Montenegro last June, but the European Commission noted Podgorica should do more to uphold the rule of law and crack down on organised crime and corruption.
Lekic, 65, has made the fight against corruption and organised crime his priority, two issues seen as the main obstacles for Montenegro to speed up its European integration.
"We live in a mire of hypocrisy and corruption, in a system that humiliates people. Montenegro must clean up its yard thoroughly," Lekic said during the campaign.
A veteran politician and an architect of Montenegro's independence, Djukanovic has himself been accused of corruption, but has blasted the claims as "lies".
Experts say corruption is deeply rooted in the country of 632,000 people which struggles with an unemployment rate of 20 per cent, and where the average monthly salary is about 480 euros ($A600).
Montenegro's relatively undiversified economy relies heavily on foreign investment which drove an economic boom between 2006 and 2008. Since then, the economy has slid, and public debt has now reached 51 per cent of gross domestic product,
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