Kordić: Attention is being diverted from DPS engineering, my place of residence is unquestionable

Democratic Front official Simonida Kordić said that since 2002 she has not voted anywhere else except in Herceg Novi and that she will seek correction if she is "by mistake" in any register of residence other than the Montenegrin one.

She added that editing voter lists is an important issue for the proper conduct of elections and that the Government will process it properly.

"Until 2002, I lived and was permanently settled in Belgrade, since 2002 I have lived exclusively in Montenegro, I work there, my children went to school there, and since then I have never voted anywhere else but here. So my place of residence is unquestionable. If by some mistake, which had to be corrected automatically, I am taken anywhere except in Montenegro, I will definitely ask for it to be corrected," said Kordić.

She responded to the announcement by CeMI that the voter list in Herceg Novi includes 2.691 voters with residence in another country, which represents more than ten percent of the electorate of that municipality.

Kordić emphasized that one cannot escape "the impression that this is an attempt to divert attention from the problem of electoral engineering by the DPS by abusing the voting rights of those who have not lived in Montenegro for decades, work in other countries, educate their children there and in no way change their lives." they are not tied to Montenegro, where they only formally have a registered residence".

The Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that determining whether someone has dual citizenship, especially if they do not possess it in a legally-based manner, is not an easy task.

The MUP added that in order to establish legally relevant facts, the existence of interstate agreements on data exchange, whose application would be effective, would be of great help.

"On the basis of certain indications and information, the MUP can initiate a procedure ex officio, in which, in addition to requesting information from other countries through official means, the person in question would also declare these circumstances. If someone were to admit that he has dual citizenship or if this fact is established in another way, he would not automatically lose it. He has a deadline of three months to submit proof of submitting a request for release from the citizenship of another country, and a deadline of one year to submit proof of release. After that, if someone received proof of dismissal from the citizenship of another country, he retains Montenegrin citizenship. Otherwise, it is lost," the Ministry of Interior announced.

CeMi obtained the data by comparing the data in relation to last year's parliamentary elections, because the MUP did not send them the voter list of Herceg Novi, as it has not yet been concluded.

CeMI project coordinator Vladimir Simonović told the MINA agency that 25.507 voters had the right to vote in the parliamentary elections in Herceg Novi, while according to the currently available data, that number is 25.502.