The opposition parties, Bosniak Party (BS), Civic Movement (GP) URA, Social Democrats (SD) and United Montenegro, will decide today which of the three candidates they will support for the Supreme State Prosecutor (VDT).
The BS will make the decision at the session of the Presidency, which should be held before the parliamentary session scheduled for 14 pm, at which the head of the prosecution will be elected.
The "Vijesti" source from BS said that opinions were divided in the party about whether they should vote for the election of candidate Milorad Marković. Fifteen days ago, BS unofficially told "Vijesta" that there are indications that they will support him.
Apart from Marković, the candidates for the position of VDT are the former acting (acting) head of the prosecution Maja Jovanović and the judge of the High Court in Podgorica Suzana Mugoša.
According to the unofficial information of "Vijesti", the main board of the GP URA authorized the parliamentary caucus to make a decision on VDT at last night's session. That party supported Jovanović in the first round of voting, held on December 21 last year, but she did not receive the required majority (54 votes) for election.
When it comes to SD, that party held a session of the Presidency yesterday, but, according to "Vijesti" information, it did not take a final position on who it would support. "Vijesti" has learned that SD MPs will announce the final decision at the parliamentary session.
As for United, that party also had a session of party bodies yesterday, and "Vijesti" was told that they will make a decision after a meeting with the parties of the ruling majority.
The ruling Democratic People's Party (DNP) of Milan Knežević will also make a decision on who to vote for today.
Some ruling parties officially announced their support for Marković, while others hinted at it. On the other hand, the strongest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), has announced that it will vote for Mugoša.
As Jovanović did not get the necessary majority in the first round of voting, in the second round VDT is elected from among all candidates who meet the legal requirements. 49 votes are required for election.
Without four DNP MPs, the ruling majority lacks at least seven more votes for the election of Marković - a total of 49. Support could come from BS, SD and United, "Vijesti" reported earlier.
According to the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, the election of the VDT in the second round is done by secret ballot. The ballot contains the names of the candidates, and each of them is preceded by a serial number. Voting is done by circling the ordinal number in front of only one name.
Given the procedure, it is not possible to know whether, who and how voted in the election of candidates, unless the secrecy of the vote is violated.
V. d. the situation in the VDT has been going on since October 2019. The head of the prosecution is currently Tatjana Begović, who is second in command. d. the mandate expires on February 8.
Jovanović has been in the prosecutor's organization for over twenty years, and on February 5, 2022, the Prosecutor's Council (TS) chose him to perform the function v. d. VDT, where she served for two terms. During those mandates, and at her suggestion, the Supreme Court elected a new chief special prosecutor, Vladimir Novović, and then several investigations were launched that resulted in indictments against the former heads of the judiciary.
Marković is a master of legal sciences with many years of experience in the field of rule of law - human rights, justice, criminal law and confiscation of property benefits. He worked at the Faculty of Law and as an expert/consultant on EU, Council of Europe, OSCE, UNDP projects...
Suzana Mugoša started her career in 1995 in the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica as an intern, and in 1999 she was elected as an advisor. After five years, she resigned and was elected a judge of the Basic Court in Podgorica, and then progressed in the judicial system. She tried the "Zavala" case, and also delivered the first-instance verdict in the "coup d'état" case, in which the leaders of the "For the Future of Montenegro" coalition, Mandić and Knežević, were accused.
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