Montenegro ? Incumbent Filip Vujanovic claimed victory Sunday in Montenegro’s first presidential elections since the tiny Balkan nation split from Serbia.

Huge fireworks lit the sky over the capital, and Vujanovic’s supporters honked car horns and waved Montenegro’s red flags with a golden eagle in downtown Podgorica after the results from independent observers were announced over state television.

The Center for Monitoring said Vujanovic won 51.4 percent of the vote, pro-Serb challenger Andrija Mandic had 20.4 percent while liberal candidate Nebojsa Medojevic had 15.7 percent for third place. The group cited the final vote count by its own monitors at polling stations.

Official results are expected today.

Medojevic conceded defeat, with his party Movement for Change citing the same figures.

Vujanovic, of the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists – one of the staunchest advocates of Montenegro’s split from Serbia two years ago – said his victory shows that “a majority of Montenegrins support our policies.”