The Municipal Committee of the Democratic Party of Socialists in Pljevlje today submitted a criminal complaint to the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in that city against Milan Lekić, the president of the election staff of the presidential candidate Miodrag Lekić for Pljevlja, due to the well-founded suspicion that he committed a criminal offense against electoral rights.
The application states that on April 4, in a press release broadcast on RTV Pljevlja, Lekić warned the people who vote in Pljevlja, who come from Bosnia and Herzegovina, that the legal team of his election headquarters will initiate criminal charges against anyone who comes in Pljevlja on the day of the vote because they were illegally entered in the voter's list, as well as that a prison sentence of up to 1 year is provided for providing incorrect information about residence.
"It is clear that with the given statement, Mr. Lekić and the election headquarters that signed with him, committed a classic criminal offense by intimidating voters who are regularly registered in the voter's list and who were able to exercise their right to vote in the past presidential elections. So, here we are talking about conscious intimidation of persons - Montenegrin citizens who are registered in the voter list of the municipality of Pljevlja, and who are close to the DPS and the coalition partner Bosniak Party in terms of their political commitment. On that day, Lekić directly sent a message to their families and to them that he would be criminally responsible if they came to Pljevlja on election day and if they exercised their right to vote guaranteed by the Constitution," the application states.
In this way, they claim in the DPS, he committed the criminal offense of violation of freedom of choice when voting, which is criminalized by the provisions of Article 186 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code. In that article, it is prescribed that "whoever forces another by force or threat, or in another illegal way, influences him to exercise or not exercise the right to vote or to vote for or against a certain candidates, electoral lists, or proposals".
Lekić, as it is further stated, "with a very deliberate threat, influenced the citizens of Montenegro living in Bosnia and Herzegovina not to exercise their right to vote, which is guaranteed to them by the Constitution, trying to ascribe to them what is characteristic of them and very well known, through contrived affairs and machinations, and that is electoral theft.
"Thanks to election theft, the head of the independent presidential candidate and his team, then under a different name, won the local government in Pljevlja in 2010," claim the Pljevlja DPS.
Milan Lekić: Stupidity and nebulousness
Commenting on the report filed against him by the Pljevlja DPS, Lekić said that it was nonsense and stupidity and that it was a consolation for the poor election result of the presidential candidate Filip Vujanović in Pljevlja.
"The fact is that the Electoral Headquarters of Miodrag Lekić in Pljevlje managed to prevent part of the malfeasance and abuse of state resources used by activists and members of DPS. "The question arises how someone from the Democratic Party of Socialists, which is a symbol of pressure, bribery, blackmail and other dishonorable and immoral actions, has the nerve to file a criminal complaint against someone who calls for respect for the Law and respect for the electoral process," said Lekić.
He said that the Election Headquarters, in a statement given to Television Pljevlja on April 4, only warned all persons who were illegally registered in the voter's list, due to the fact that they have dual residence in BiH and Montenegro, that the legal team of the Election Headquarters will initiate criminal charges against anyone who in violation of his right to go out and vote in the elections scheduled for April 7.
"Calling for compliance with the law and the realization of the legality of the election process cannot under any circumstances be the basis for filing a criminal complaint. From the content of the announcement, it cannot be concluded that someone is using force or threatening someone. The announcement only warns all those who would vote illegally in the elections. The law on the voter list in article 21 paragraph 1 point 2 states that persons who provide incorrect information on residence and voting rights for themselves or others will be punished with a prison sentence of up to one year. "It is indisputable that all persons who have dual residence and whose names were published by the daily newspaper "DAN" knew that they had two residences, but they concealed one, so they were only warned by the announcement of the consequences of such behavior," said Lekić.
He says that the filers of criminal charges forgot that on April 7 the situation in Montenegro changed and that they can no longer sue and judge as they are used to.
"The legal team of the Electoral Headquarters will continue to take the measures provided for by law to prevent violations of the electoral process and abuses of voting rights, as well as preventing abuses of state resources observed during the election campaign and on the very day of voting in the elections held on April 07," he said. Lekic.
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