The Radio-Television Council of Montenegro (RTCG) did not discuss the fact that the Faculty of Political Sciences (FPN) was engaged to conduct an exit poll on election night, nor did it receive any official information about the content of the agreement with the FPN and the way the research was carried out.
This was told by Council member Goran Đurović to "Vijesta", who pointed out that "he has no information that a tender was announced for engagement with FPN".
If there is any violation of legal norms, Đurović warned that the RTCG Council "will raise the issue of responsibility, because it is responsible for the legality of RTCG's work."
On Saturday evening before the election, RTCG suddenly announced that a survey was to be carried out on the order of that house, the results of which it presented 15 minutes after the polls closed in a program dedicated to the elections.
This was the reason for Democratic Front (DF) officials Nebojša Medojević and Milan Knežević to announce criminal charges against RTCG director Rad Vojvodić, FPN dean Sonja Tomović-Šundić and professor Miloš Bešić.
Đurović also told "Vijesta" that he expects the management of the Public Service to provide the members with all the information regarding that work at the next session of the Council.
If there is any violation of legal norms, Đurović warned that the RTCG Council "will raise the issue of responsibility, because it is responsible for the legality of the work of the RTCG".
"I have no information that a tender was announced for this work or that in accordance with the Law on Public Procurement this work was contracted through a direct contract. Based on the RTCG Statute, it is mandatory to publish all contracts that are the subject of public procurement as well as other contracts concluded with legal to persons on any basis, if the contract does not explicitly prescribe a prohibition by the contracting parties and if it is not in accordance with the rulebook governing the keeping of business secrets in RTCG," said Đurović.
During yesterday's day, as Đurović said, "the contract with FPN or another agency involved in the realization of the research was not published on the RTCG website".
He said that "the Council of the RTCG performed its basic role in the election process by adopting the 'Rules on reporting to the RTCG on the content of the pre-election campaign for the parliamentary and local elections to be held on October 14, 2012'".
"Making decisions about program segments at the operational level is the job of management," said Đurović.
"Vijesti" was unable to get in touch with Bešić and Tomović-Šundić through the numbers available to the newsroom.
"When newspapers are introduced into the election process, including the part of informing the public about the election results, in my opinion it is necessary to inform the citizens well in order to avoid different interpretations and reactions," said Đurović.
Commenting on the announcement of the criminal complaint against Medojević and Knežević, Đurović said that he was not familiar with its details.
"All citizens have the right to file a criminal complaint, which should be adequately argued. This is also one of the recommendations of international observers regarding the past elections," Đurović concluded.
"Vijesti" was unable to get in touch with Bešić and Tomović-Šundić through the numbers available to the newsroom, while no answers came from the Tomović-Šundić office to questions sent via email.
Vojvodic claims that he did everything according to the law
The director of RTCG told "Vijesta" that everything that was done regarding the job with the exit poll was in accordance with the law.
"We are doing our job, our obligation is to let the public know, to inform in a professional and dignified way. The contract that was made is professional, and if they don't know how to read, they should consult the Law on Public Procurement. Everything was done in accordance with the law. By the way, the Europeans also rated those who complain, whine and cry as a unit. And I will not communicate with repeat offenders," Vojvodić said in a short statement.
He did not want to answer the questions of "Vijesti" whether the media company he headed had announced a tender for that job, why everything was announced the night before the election, and whether he thought that the citizens were sufficiently educated with this method of surveying.
CEMI: Cancel voting at individual polling stations
The director of the legal team of the Monitoring Center (CEMI) Vlado Dedović said that their observers for the first time noted the occurrence of polling of citizens at polling stations, which is why they will send an official letter to the State and Municipal Election Commissions with a proposal to cancel the voting process at polling stations 11 and 12 in Kotor, 6C and 67 in Podgorica, and 52.
"CEMI believes that the mentioned procedure represents a violation of the electoral procedure and the secrecy of voting. It is worrying that this phenomenon was recorded at a certain number of polling stations - at the entrance as well as within a radius of 50 meters, which is contrary to the provisions of the Law on the Election of Councilors and Members of Parliament, as well as the position SEC," Dedović said.
According to Dedović, polling represented a kind of harassment of voters and members of election administration bodies.
"Because the voters were not informed about that, nor about the nature and character of the information that will be requested from them. Nor that polling can only be done with their consent," Dedović said.
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