All parties in power have not yet declared whether they will support the initiative of the Democrats to schedule an extraordinary session of the Assembly to vote again on the amendments to the Law on Local Self-Government, which the president returned to the parliament for a re-decision. Milo Djukanovic.
Amendments to the law foresee the possibility that the crisis in Podgorica, which arose due to the impossibility of the final announcement of the results of the local elections of October 23, will be resolved by the Government forming a committee of commissioners.
MP of the Democrats and holder of the coalition list of that party, UCG and Demos in the Podgorica elections, Danilo Šaranović, on January 5th sent the parliamentary clubs an initiative that contains a proposal to convene the Assembly for an extraordinary session, where this Law would be decided again, after 15 days from the day of signing the request from the deputies, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly.
"Some parliamentary clubs have already announced their support, while others have not declared themselves due to the expectation of the position of our coalition partner, colleagues (Jacob) Milatović, whether he, on behalf of Europe, is now giving support to this kind of crisis solution model, which would ensure the support of all the winners of the elections", Saranović said to "Vijesta".
At the end of last year, the Movement Europe now announced that it supports amendments to the Law on Local Self-Government, judging that defeated political actors in the twilight of their rule are resorting to all undemocratic methods. They said that this is clearly indicated by the behavior of the President of the Election Commission of the Capital City. Veselin Vukčevića, who, as they claim, consistently ignores the requests of the members of that collective body, and the binding instructions of the State Election Commission.
Local elections in Podgorica were held on October 23, but Vukčević (DPS) refuses to allow the announcement of the final results, stating that this cannot happen until the decision of the Constitutional Court on election appeals. Since the electoral legislation is vague in that part, the parties interpret it differently, so the election results have been announced in most cities, with the exception of Podgorica, Pljevalje and Plav.
Member of the Socialist People's Party Dragan Vukic he told "Vijesti" that the SNP will again vote for changes to the Law on Local Self-Government, because the electoral will of the citizens must be respected, and the winners of the October 23 election must be enabled to take over power unhindered.
Considering that according to the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, a session can be scheduled by 27 deputies in an extraordinary session, Vukić pointed out that they expect such a request to be signed by the initiator of this legal solution as soon as possible and that the session be scheduled within the time limit provided for in the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly .
"By deliberately blocking the Constitutional Court and not voting for the judges, the DPS wanted to block the takeover of power in the municipalities and thus forcefully retain power by manipulating the electoral will of the citizens. For this reason, changes were made to the Law on Local Self-Government, which the SNP parliamentary club supported and voted for," said Vukić.
The Democratic Front and GP URA did not answer the question of "Vijesti" whether they will vote again for amendments to the law.
From the Center for Democratic Transition (CDT), however, they assess that the Parliament should not adopt that law, because it would be "only a continuation of unconstitutional undertakings and legal violence".
"The way out of the crisis should not be sought in hasty unconstitutional solutions that have far-reaching consequences for the collapse of the legal order. The only correct and legal way is the election of judges of the Constitutional Court", the deputy executive director of the CDT told "Vijesta" Biljana Papović.
Šaranović pointed out that after the clear declaration of all the winners of the election that they support such a proposal that leads to the most urgent formation of government in the spirit of the citizens' electoral will, it is expected that the parliamentary session will be held and the law will be adopted in the shortest prescribed time.
The Assembly told "Vijesta" that in cases where the President of Montenegro returns a voted law to the Assembly for re-decision, in accordance with Article 182 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, the President of the Assembly puts that law on the agenda of the first following session of the Assembly.
"As prescribed by the Constitution, in the period from the first working day in January to the last working day in February, only an extraordinary session can be convened at the request of the authorized proposer. As in the specific case, the proposer of the law was a group of deputies, it would be necessary in the specified period for the number of deputies prescribed by the Constitution and Rules of Procedure of the Assembly to submit a request for an extraordinary session and determine the agenda, i.e. to propose that the returned law be placed on the agenda of the Assembly for re-examination declarations", they state from the Assembly.
They explain that in the event that the stated conditions are not met, a restatement of the returned law could be on the agenda at the first session of the regular session of the Assembly in March of this year.
As mentioned, the Assembly has not yet received a request to convene an extraordinary session, the agenda of which would be to vote on amendments to the Law on Local Self-Government
On December 27, the Assembly adopted amendments to that law, and on January 4, Đukanović sent it back for reconsideration.
Šaranović said that Đukanović "with such an act put himself in the role of the contractor of the most primitive obstruction of the surrender of the authorities in Podgorica and several other municipalities, trying to buy a few more Sundays in this way." Ivan Vuković in the chair of the mayor of Podgorica".
Biljana Papović said that they have already warned the public that the proposed legal solutions represent a continuation of the anti-European behavior of the parliamentary majority, which began with the unconstitutional postponement of the elections.
"Through this, politicians strive to create a parallel electoral system, instead of the long-awaited reform of the electoral legislation. We hope that there are forces in the Assembly that still consider the process of European integration important, in which electoral reform is one of the key conditions for membership," Papović assessed.
She pointed out that the CDT monitored the local elections and that, by adopting evaluations, they stated that, within the existing limitations of the Montenegrin electoral procedure, they reflect the will of the citizens.
"We believe that this will must be respected as a matter of urgency, but the power resulting from that will must be established in a legal way. This is especially important if we have in mind the multi-month illegal mandates of the current presidents of municipalities and the Capital City who have the ambition to rule forever," she said.
Papović said that "it is high time for politicians to finally stop obstructing democratic processes and instead of narrow party interests, give priority to the rule of law".
Papović: The way out of the election crisis is contrary to the Constitution
Papović assessed that the amendments to the Law on Local Self-Government foresee a "way out" of the electoral crisis by regulating the electoral procedure in a manner contrary to the Constitution and the Law on the Election of Councilors and Members of Parliament.
"It introduces the limitation of the right to the appeal procedure, the termination of the mandate of the Assembly by force of law and the government's interference in the election process, through the appointment of the Board of Commissioners while the election process is still ongoing. Also, the proposed solutions give powers to electoral lists based on election results that are not final, that is, while the electoral process is still ongoing. In this way, the powers to manage the municipality are given to political actors whose entry into the local parliament has not been confirmed," said Papović.
Milatović: Vuković is an ordinary usurper
Candidate for the mayor of Podgorica and one of the leaders of the Europe Now Movement, Jakov Milatović, said yesterday that the outgoing mayor, Ivan Vuković, is an "ordinary usurper".
That's how he responded on Twitter to Vuković, who posted a picture from his office with the flag of Montenegro and the city of Podgorica.
"At least until the next one moves in and 'decorates' it with a new sign, about which they will be able to proudly inform the officials of our neighboring country", wrote Vuković, alluding to the participation of local officials from the DF in mid-December at the session of the Committee for the Diaspora and Serbs in the region of the Assembly of Serbia, where some of them announced that they had returned the tricolor to the cabinets and the city.
Milatović wrote to Vuković that he "continues to decorate himself with other people's feathers as soon as he falsely presents himself as Pg_Mayor".
"And you are nothing more than an ordinary usurper. But I guess that's normal for you, for whom flags are mainly used for pockets and divisions," he wrote.
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