Milatović - Mekači: Greater participation of women in Montenegrin politics is needed

Greater participation of women in Montenegrin politics is needed, it was assessed at the meeting between the President of Montenegro Jakov Milatović and the director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Mateo Mekači.

"The current legislation foresees affirmative action and a mandatory 30% of female candidates of the less represented gender on the electoral lists, with the obligation that there should be at least one candidate of the less represented gender for every four", it is stated in the press release of the Office for Public Relations of the President of Montenegro.

During the meeting, as stated in the announcement, the importance of electoral reform was highlighted. "In the context of further democratization of our country, with a reminder that the presence of ODIHR experts, as well as reports on the conduct of elections and expert recommendations, are key guidelines for improving the electoral process in Montenegro."

According to them, it was stated that there are expectations that the electoral legislation reform process will be inclusive and successful, bearing in mind, as they stated, the importance of this issue for the EU path of Montenegro.

Milatović stressed that the new Committee for Electoral Reform, which was constituted at the end of 2023, has a difficult task but also clear guidelines for future action.

"He pointed out that the main goals for improving the electoral process in Montenegro are: professionalization of the electoral administration, better control over the financing of campaigns and the misuse of public resources, the editing of the voter list and the introduction of open lists and individual candidacies", they concluded in the announcement.