The Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) is negotiating with the parties and movements that made up the sovereignist bloc about joint participation in the elections in several other cities, except for Podgorica.
According to "Vijesti" information, Milo Đukanović's party is working on creating broad coalitions in Budva, Tivat, Bijelo Polje, Danilovgrad and Pljevlja.
Seven days ago, the DPS signed an agreement with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on a unified appearance in Bar, and the formalization of a large coalition in Podgorica is expected, as announced by the leader of the DPS.
Elections in the capital and 13 municipalities (will also be held in Plužine, Žabljak, Šavnik, Kolašin, Plav, Rožaje and Zeta) are scheduled for October 23.
The president of the Budva DPS committee, Milan Tičić, last night, according to the newspaper, spoke with representatives of the SDP, the Social Democrats (SD) and the Citizens' Initiative (GI) "21. May" about the creation of a joint alliance for the extraordinary elections in that city.
The source of "Vijesti" said that "negotiations are going in the right direction".
Given that he is participating in some elections for the first time, for GI "21. May" an independent appearance would represent a big risk, despite the fact that the electorate has grown tired of the two-year political war between the ruling Democratic Front (DF) and the Democrats, which has opened up space for citizens to choose new forces.
The consent of the SDP to join the coalition in Budva, according to "Vijesti" information, is still uncertain. In 2016, that party acted in alliance with the URA Civic Movement and LP ("Budva mora"), which won one mandate, while in 2020 it emerged independently, also winning one council seat.
When it comes to Tivat, where extraordinary elections are also being held, the opposition parties in that city - DPS, SD, SDP and LP - will appear in a coalition, sources in those parties confirmed to "News".
It will be the first time after more than 20 years that the DPS does not come out independently in Tivat, but in a coalition with parties, some of which - such as the SDP, which until September last year provided parliamentary support to the local government - were in open conflict. .
"It is certain that there will be a DPS-SD-SDP-LP coalition, although the talks about it have not yet been completed. We expect the coalition to be formalized and announced in the next few days," said one of the "Vijesti" sources.
Another source confirmed that the coalition will be led by the president of the Tivat DPS committee, Dubravka Nikčević, who was officially announced by that party twenty days ago as the holder of its list.
In the last elections in Tivat, held in 2020, the DPS was defeated by the newly formed coalition civil list "Narod pobejeđuje", which then formed a post-election coalition with the Boke Forum and the list "Goran Božović - honorable and responsible for a better Tivat", with the parliamentary support of one councilor of the SDP. Thus, for the first time after 24 years, DPS was sent to the opposition in the smallest town of Bokele.
The SD, which until August 2020 led Tivat in a coalition with the DPS and the Croatian Civic Initiative (HGI), also ended up in the opposition.
The LP did not pass the census in that, but also in the previous elections in Tivat, while the SDP barely managed to do so in 2020.
Negotiations between the parties of the former sovereignist bloc are still ongoing in Bijelo Polje, and their epilogue should be known soon.
At the end of August, the ruling DPS held a meeting in that city on the occasion of the official start of the pre-election campaign.
DPS Vice President Abaz Dizdarević told "Vijesta" that the party will announce the results of the talks in the coming days.
"We will soon come out with a list and find out how DPS will act," he added.
The same was announced by the SD local committee, whose president Ismar Ćorović told the newspaper that the party is ready for an independent performance, but that it is negotiating a coalition one.
In the 2018 elections, the coalition of DPS, SD and the Bosniak Party (BS) won 25 out of 38 mandates.
The SDP, which has been in the opposition benches in the Bijelo Polje parliament for seven years, has not yet made a decision on how to participate in the elections.
Adnan Striković, MP and president of the party's Bjelopolje committee, told "Vijesta" that the party is talking with "state-building parties" and that the dialogue is taking place in the "correct tone".
"But in politics, until the signature is signed, you cannot be sure that you have fully agreed on everything. Only after that (signature) will it be known whether the civic parties will perform together," he stated.
In the last elections, that party won two mandates.
In Danilovgrad, where DPS is in power, the party committee is preparing a coalition with traditional partners.
The source of "Vijesti" explains that it is not yet certain whether they will participate in the elections in a coalition with SD and LP, or whether they will be joined by SDP and GI "21. May".
"Meetings and negotiations will begin in the coming days, but for now it is certain that the holder of the list will be from the DPS, and three names are mentioned - the current president of the municipality Branko Bošković, the president of the local DPS Radosav Jovanović and the former vice president of the municipality and member of the main board of the party Aleksandar Pavićević", said the interlocutor from DPS.
That party participated in the 2018 elections in a coalition with the LP, and won 19 out of a total of 33 mandates in the local assembly.
Interlocutors from the opposition bloc claim that in the city, besides Zeta, there is already a lot of mention and that in the elections, GP URA and the Socialist People's Party (SNP) will have a single list.
In the last elections, GP URA was in an alliance with the Democrats, who won six mandates, while the SNP was in a coalition with the Democratic People's Party and the Yugoslav Communist Party of Montenegro, which won two seats.
DPS also in Pljevlja, as the president of the party's board Dragiša Sokić told "Vijesti", is conducting consultations with traditional partners about a joint performance.
In the 2018 elections, DPS participated in a coalition with BS and SD, winning power with 20 out of 35 mandates. SDP performed independently, but did not pass the census.
Đukanović announced on Monday that an agreement is close on a joint appearance in the elections in Podgorica of actors who participated in the restoration of state independence in 2006.
He said that he would consider the joint performance of former allies a great success, adding that it remains to be seen whether such a political arrangement will be formed for the state elections.
Four years ago they were defeated only in Plužine
In May 2018, elections were held in 12 municipalities, and Đukanović's party won an absolute majority in six of them - Podgorica, Danilovgrad, Bijelo Polje, Pljevlja, Žabljak and Savnik.
Along with long-time coalition partners, DPS also took power in Bar, Kolašin and Golubovci - then a municipality within the Capital City, which recently became an independent municipality of Zeta.
Although it did not win the most votes in Rožaje and Plav, DPS, with a coalition with BS and SD, managed to enter power in those cities as well.
In 2018, DPS was defeated only in Plužine, where SNP won absolute power.
Bonus video:
