It's hard to get out of the Šavnik rut

In Šavnik, the elections at two polling stations were interrupted for the ninth time yesterday, and, as the Municipal Election Commission (MEC) said, around 30 euros will be spent on the election process by the New Year.

President of the MEC in Šavnik Dusan Radanović, as well as the other seven members of the MEC expected to finish their work on October 23, when local elections were held in 14 municipalities. Nine weeks later, they and the journalists, in an almost unchanged composition, are still following the elections in Šavnik with no indication that they will end this year.

"Every Sunday there is hope that the elections will finally end, but, unfortunately, reality denies us. The law requires us to conduct elections and we must do it. We sent letters to the State Election Commission (SEC) and the Government. The SEC referred us to the legal provisions, which we ourselves know. After all, that's the only thing they could do," Radanović told "Vijesta".

So he and the other members of the MEC will come to work again next Sunday, December 25, with the hope that the end of this year will also make official the end of the local elections in Šavnik, which have already been ten weeks long.

The election process not only, as the people of Šavnica say, "ate" their time and nerves, but also, according to Radanović, large financial resources.

"About 30 euros will be spent on organizing elections in Savnik by the New Year," said Radanović.

Prime Minister in technical mandate Dritan Abazovic, guesting on the Public Service, said that he will appeal to the SEC to cancel the local elections in Šavnik, schedule a new date for their holding in the spring, and in the meantime control the voter list. His statement is commented differently by the holders of election lists in Šavnik.

Holder of the list of the coalition "For the future of Šavnik", Gavrilo Cerović, said that they are ready to "sacrifice" the advantage they have in order to resolve the current situation.

"We are damaged here. Currently, we have 22 percent more voters in 21 polling stations. How would these two polling stations be different compared to these 21? Even though we are damaged, this is the solution to overcome this situation", said Cerović.

He saw Abazović's statement that the voter list was being rechecked as a confirmation of what the coalition persistently draws attention to. They have cases, as he points out, that certain persons have changed their place of residence as many times in five years, depending on where the elections are held.

"Finally, this government understood what we have been talking about for a year, what is being done in Šavnik and what has been done for 30 years - residents moving to Šavnik, moving out of Šavnik as needed, so for the first time it was publicly and officially announced what is being done in Šavnik Shavnik. Why purifying the voter list? So what was done was acknowledged," said Cerović.

His political opponent, holder of the DPS-SD list and current president of that Municipality, Jugoslav Jakić, said that Abazović's statement did not deserve any comment.

"Again, the same policy of the Government. It seems to me that last Sunday he accused the prosecutor's office, that they are responsible for the fact that elections cannot be held in Šavnik, and now, when he was probably invited by the Democratic Front, a different story is being told," said Jakić.

He also added that if Abazović has constitutional and legal powers, "let him act freely."

"That would not surprise us either, considering the situation that is happening in Montenegro, where we have gone from a country that was in the lobby of the European Union to almost being isolated by the international community. What is more eye-popping to us, and I believe to the public as well, is this constant weekly change of policy and opinion on the part of the Government. The elections were interrupted again. Surely such a statement by Abazović contributed to the continuation of this behavior", believes the current president of the Municipality of Šavnik.

Elections at the polling station in the Municipality of Šavnik were interrupted again because of the same voter who caused them to be interrupted a week earlier - Roberta Shalera.

Asked if he had heard that there is a surname Šaler in the Šavnica region, Jakić said that people in Mojkovac and Podgorica should be asked if they know the Cerovićs "who voted there until yesterday", as well as whether he or someone else in the municipality should know anyone in order for that person to exercise the right to vote, or exercise that right based on the fact that he is registered in the voter list by law.

Member of the Electoral Committee in the town of Kruševica from the coalition "For the Future of Šavnik", Novica Knezevic who stopped the vote, said that people from outside came to vote and that he had the "special honor to stop the vote".

"Some Raičević, Eraković, Solović. People appeared that I see for the first time in my life. I am from this region and on August 30, 2020, 11 voters were registered, while now there are 58 in this polling station. Given that I studied at two police schools, I recognized this irregularity and it is my duty to stop that voting which leads to some general crime. My grandfather was the head of the state security service, and then who else would interrupt, if not me. This was announced indirectly by Prime Minister Dritan Abazović, whom we invite to get a little more involved in the election process in Šavnik. Why should we from Šavnik allow someone else to influence our life, our electoral will? It's already been 3-4 mandates and it's insolence on the part of the DPS," Knežević said.

His colleague who stopped voting at polling station number 1, in the Municipality building, Miloje Istijanović, he said that the principles of the coalition "For the future of Šavnik" remained the same - not to allow voters who are used to "moving from town to town" to determine the fate of the people of Šavnik.

"I interrupted because of the same voter who tried to vote last Sunday. I think it's Šaler - I have a hard time remembering last names on the side, which we don't know", said Istijanović.

The DPS-SD coalition, which is currently in power in Šavnik, has so far won 549 votes, the "For the Future of Šavnik" coalition, which consists of the Socialist People's Party (SNP), the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) and the Democratic People's Party (DNP), 571. , while 99 voters voted for the coalition of Democrats, Europe Now and United Montenegro.

According to the results so far, the opposition coalitions have 121 votes more than the ruling DPS-SD.

The number of criminal reports is growing

The police filed a criminal complaint against Miloj Istijanović (30) and Novica Knežević (45) with the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Pljevlja for five criminal acts. Istijanović, who was a member of the Voting Committee at the polling station in the building of the Municipality of Savnik, is charged with three crimes - violation of the right to vote, preventing voting and destroying ballots (he destroyed 16 ballots). Knežević is charged with preventing voting and destroying voting documents - he destroyed 48 ballots.

The Basic State Prosecutor's Office (ODT) of Pljeval previously submitted four indictments to the Basic Court in Žabljak against seven persons for preventing voting during the local elections in Šavnik.