Koprivica: There is no time to outwit, the elections are close

The director of the Center for Democratic Transition (CDT), Dragan Koprivica, assessed that Montenegro faces the upcoming parliamentary elections unprepared, that there is no time for radical changes and that now the only thing left is a political agreement in which all important actors will participate.

Koprivica told "Vijesti" that the current situation may be worse compared to the previous election cycle, which is also the opinion of some opposition officials. They previously told "Vijesti" that there are no conditions for free elections, which the European Parliament insists on, and that a boycott or postponement are realistic options that should be discussed.

"We are in a state of legal uncertainty and instability of key institutions for conducting fair elections. At this moment, there is not enough time for major, radical changes, because the elections are too close and there is no time for political bickering and outwitting. Now the only thing left is a political agreement in which all important actors will participate", said Koprivica.

He assessed that the dialogue on election conditions, if there is one, should result in transitional solutions that will be acceptable to everyone, so that the elections themselves will be accepted:

"Only in this way can we prevent a new cycle of political instability, protests and conflicts".

He reminded that the long-awaited reform of the electoral legislation was not implemented, stating that three years and another chance to implement a fundamental reform were wasted in political calculations and conditions. He pointed out that the ruling majority unilaterally changed two laws, but that he does not see progress in these changes because the problems remain.

"Instead of professionalization and independence, we kept the same politicized election administration. CDT has repeatedly emphasized that without the depoliticization of the State Election Commission (SEC), we will not achieve the desired electoral integrity," said Koprivica, who participated in the work of the Parliamentary Committee for Electoral Legislation, which ended without effect.

He assessed that the opportunity to improve the supervision over the financing of political parties and the functioning of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption was not used.

"An additional problem is that ASK welcomes the elections in an acting state".

He pointed out that the changes to part of the law, which were unilaterally adopted, in some segments even represent a step backwards, and that, as he pointed out, the problem of persons with fictitious residence in the voter list has not been solved either.

"We can freely say that the electoral justice system is not ready either. The Supreme State Prosecutor's Office is in an acting state, while the head of the Supreme Court is a president whose third mandate is contested in public. In addition, we have a dysfunctional Constitutional Court, the last judicial instance that decides on elections", Koprivica assessed.

He said that the current amendments to the Law on the Financing of Political Entities, for the purpose of granting social assistance during the epidemic, introduce additional suspicion of abuses in favor of the ruling majority.

"That is why it is very important that the spending of the budget reserve is transparent without the possibility of being protected by a secret label, as it was until now".

Last week, the Assembly adopted changes to the law, and among the opposition MPs, the most complaints were about the transparency of social benefits.

Postponement of elections only with the consensus of all parties

Koprivica assessed that there is no legal basis for postponing the elections in the current situation.

"If, due to the continuation of the pandemic, the need for this would arise, it would have to be done with the greatest possible consensus of all parliamentary entities. "Not unilaterally, without the involvement of all key actors," he pointed out.

Representatives of the opposition told "Vijesti" two days ago that they do not yet know whether they will participate in the elections in the fall, although they agree that "DPS has already started the campaign and there is no question of fair elections". They pointed out that the option is to postpone, but also to boycott the elections.