Achieving old nationalist plans, reaping profits from the implementation of future energy projects or ending the long-term electoral engineering of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and improving the economic position of citizens are the key accusations, that is, the reasons the parties explain the struggle for power in Šavnik, which has entered the second month of choice.
In that town of Sub-Durmitor, voting should take place for the seventh time on Sunday, because members of the polling committees from the opposition coalition "For the Future of Šavnik", led by the Democratic Front (DF), do not allow part of the newly registered voters to vote because, they claim, they have nothing to do with that city and were rewritten to support the ruling DPS. On the other hand, DPS say that those voters are DF.
That it is questionable that the upcoming voting at two polling stations (where 541 citizens have the right to vote) will be the last in this electoral cycle, which began on October 23, hints at the opposition's position that they will persist in not allowing "electoral engineering". Due to a "loophole" in the Law on the Election of Councilors and Members of Parliament, that is, the failure to define the solution for repeating elections, they can be held indefinitely.
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And while the opposition claims that they are fighting for power, among other things, to put an end to the DPS and its election manipulations, the party says that the real intentions of their political opponents are much more perfidious and include "enclosing territories".
President of the Municipality of Šavnik and holder of the coalition list of DPS and Social Democrats (SD) Jugoslav Jakić, told "Vijesta" that one of the goals of the opposition is to build a new one in the area of Stara Herzegovina, that is, to "connect the transversal road from Pljevlja to Herceg Novi".
Old Herzegovina is a geographical area that includes Pljevlja, Žabljak, Šavnik, Plužine, Nikšić, Herceg Novi, and some municipalities in the Republic of Srpska (RS). DPS officials claim on social media that the opposition would have "surrounded Serbian municipalities" by seizing power in Šavnik, and that it would "soon be a community of Serbian municipalities".
According to Jakić, the second goal of the opposition is related to the energy potential of Šavnik. In that town, the construction of the Komarnica hydroelectric power plant (HE) is planned, and other projects are being announced that will allegedly provide the area with large revenues.
"Credible investors interested in wind energy came to our municipality. We had one of the biggest investors, interested in building a wind farm. Negotiations are taking place and we are moving towards the realization of that project. The investor is interested in investing over 650 million euros. On the other hand, the Komarnica HPP project is worth 300 million euros. "Savnik also has solar potential... All this indicates that this municipality will be the energy hub of the north of Montenegro," Jakić pointed out.
Holder of the list "For the future of Šavnik" Gavrilo Cerović, told "Vijesti" that the DPS accusations are propaganda and that the party Milo Đukanović he is trying at all costs to stay in power at least in one municipality. That is why, he claims, they implemented electoral engineering.
"They are not only doing this now, but for 30 years. This can be seen from the records of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP), but now for the first time resistance has been made to it... As for the accusations against Stara Herzegovina - DPS lost power in Paštrovići, Grblje, Morača... What does Stara have to do with it now? Herzegovina? It's just a fight, which lasted for 30 years. I don't know how many of them know, historically speaking, the borders of Stara Herzegovina... When it comes to accusations of energy potential - these things take time. According to the project, it will be necessary to work on HPP "Komarnica" for eight years... Here, it is only in the interest of the local rulers to have a foothold," he claims.
Cerović says that the coalition he leads will not allow "election tourists" to vote even on Sunday.
"The elections can only end on Sunday if DPS president Đukanović says - 'We are ashamed of what we did, my relatives will not vote in Šavnik, because they never lived there, so let whoever wants to win'. Everyone knows that we are right", he states.
Jakić, on the other hand, says that he expects DPS's competitors to realize that "what they are doing is in vain." "Because it is clear that our coalition will achieve a convincing victory. We did not make procedural mistakes, we are waiting for the continuation of the voting and we will call on the voters to express themselves peacefully", he states.
A large number of newly registered voters was recorded in Šavnik, which is 350 more than the parliamentary elections held two years ago, and 2018 more than the previous local elections held in 245. Some of them, as announced by the Ministry of Interior, in the meantime returned to their home municipalities.
From April 20 to October 20, 341 citizens moved to that town, according to the voter list.
The elections in Šavnik were marked by a large number of incidents, including physical conflicts. Head of the Basic State Prosecutor's Office (ODT) in Pljevlja Sanja Golubovic, told "Vijesti" that because of the events related to the elections held on November 20 and 27, criminal charges were filed against seven persons for criminal offenses against electoral rights and the criminal offense of endangering security.
Previously, criminal charges against 23 persons were submitted to the prosecutor's office for the elections held on October 30 and 6, and on November 13 and 31.
In addition to criminal offenses against electoral rights, they also refer to assault on an official, endangering security, and the criminal offense of minor bodily harm.
"In all cases in which criminal charges have been submitted to the prosecutor's office and cases have been formed, investigative actions are being taken. The Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Pljevlja acts as an independent and impartial body, exclusively in accordance with constitutional and legal powers," Golubović said.
Criminal offenses against electoral rights are threatened with fines, as well as prison terms of up to five years.
According to the election results so far, the opposition coalitions have 121 votes more than the ruling alliance of DPS and SD.
The elections have not ended at the polling stations in the Municipality building and the village of Kruševice.
Koprivica: One group robs another of its right to self-governance
The problem with the elections in Šavnik is within the jurisdiction of the prosecution, it was said yesterday at the panel discussion "Integrity of the Voter's List of Montenegro".
DPS MP Predrag Sekulić assessed that the elections in that city are "a true picture of the Government's work". "Political responsibility is not on DPS, but on the current government. I agree that the prosecutor's office should react if someone interferes with the election process," he added, the Mina agency reports.
Democratic Montenegro MP Momo Koprivica stated that the problem in Šavnik is represented by the so-called bb. (without number) addresses, because they make field verification of residence difficult. "I think that bb. form address to hide real data. We have a voter's list that is actually the result of stamping and engineering," he pointed out.
Koprivica said that one group of citizens wants to usurp the right to local self-government from the citizens of another city. "We see a serious problem when it comes to maintaining the voter list, because some state government bodies are not doing their job. The voter list is a picture of the inaction of numerous institutions," he underlined.
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