In the elections in Andrijevica, DPS is the strongest, but it will be difficult to form a majority: There is no government without groups of citizens

The ruling parties at the state level won the overall largest number of votes and mandates in yesterday's local elections in Andrijevica, but in order to form the government they will have to negotiate with at least one of the two civic lists, which will have four councilors in the 30-seat parliament, unofficial results show. from the headquarters of the Democrats.

According to those results, the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) won the most votes, 980 or 35,32 percent and 11 mandates, but even if they agree with the civic lists, they will lack one more councilor.

The list of Democrats and SNP won 24,14 percent (670 votes) and eight mandates, Europe now 13,69 percent (380 votes) and four mandates, the coalition "For the future of Andrijevica" (New Serbian Democracy, Democratic People's Party, Right Montenegro and Free Montenegro) 10,95 percent (304 votes) and three mandates, the group of citizens "For the future of our children" 8,94 percent (248 votes) and three mandates, and the group of citizens "Vasojevićki pokret" 5,23 percent (145 votes) and will have one councilor.

United Montenegro received 51 votes, or 1,84 percent, and was the only one of the seven lists that did not enter the local parliament.

A majority of at least 16 councilors is required to form the government.

3.827 citizens had the right to vote in that municipality, who could vote at 23 polling stations. According to the data of the Municipal Election Commission (MEC), the turnout was 71,61 percent, which is less than in the local elections of 2020, when it was 82 percent.

Three lists participated in the 2020 local elections, the DPS/SD coalition had 15 councilors, the Democrats/Demos had 3, and the SNP/NSD had seven. In the previous convocation, the local parliament had one seat more than now - 31, but now it has one less seat due to the drop in the number of registered voters below 5.000.

Ivan Radojević, the leader of the civic list "For the future of our children", hinted that the negotiations on the formation of the government will be difficult, saying that "they coped with all the forces of the DPS and the levers that they had been building for years", but that they were "attacked and from the Government".

"During three days, we experienced such attacks from the Government of Montenegro, and under those conditions we took three councilors. Without us, nothing will be able to be done, but we will have great conditions, we think that no one will respect them, and therefore we think that new ones will be held elections", said Radojević and said that they are on the same level as "one president of the Assembly and one prime minister".

The parties that ruled in Andrijevica until the introduction of forced administration in March won five mandates less yesterday. Out of those votes, the largest part seems to have gone to two lists of citizens' groups.

The leader of DCG Aleksa Bečić said that he was satisfied with the result, that he was rooting for the formation of a stable government, which would consist of councilors from all lists, except for DPS, because, as he states, in the past it happened that when everything depended on one councilor, it often happened instability.

"All those people who have been together for many years and decades until August 30 (2020) should sit down at the same table. We understand what happened, and that there were hard words at one time, it all happens in the campaign," assessed Bečić.

SNP President Vladimir Joković told journalists last night that cooperation with everyone except DPS is acceptable for them, and those who are in power with them at the state level are the most acceptable.

When asked whether they will form special councilor clubs or jointly with the Democrats, Joković said that they would discuss this later, but that both scenarios were acceptable to them.

According to the schedule on the coalition list, the Democrats will have two and the SNP six mandates.

DPS won about 600 votes less than in the local elections in 2020 when it was in coalition with the Social Democrats, but close to 400 votes more than in last year's parliamentary elections, with the fact that they lost four mandates compared to the previous convocation of the local parliament.

DPS spokesman Miloš Nikolić announced that it is time for parliamentary elections because that party won "more votes than PES, Democrats and SNP together - the parties that make up the Government".

"Citizens said they want DPS to lead Andrijevica. We were close to the 12th mandate. We will count the votes once again, and see how far we are from 12 mandates," DPS general secretary Aleksandar Bogdanović told reporters, saying that "DPS is returning to government in Andrijevica". "The civil concept won".

PES electoral list holder Dragana Vučević said that PES will be the support of the future government in Andrijevica. In 2016, Vucevic was on the electoral list of DPS in the local elections in Andrijevica.

PES won 558 votes in last year's parliamentary elections, and now it won almost a third less.

The Coalition for the Future of Montenegro won 452 votes in the parliamentary elections, while its "namesake" won a third less, i.e. 304 votes, in Andrijevica yesterday.

Lazar Asanović, a candidate for councilor from the "For the future of Andrijevica" list, said that he expects to participate in the government after the elections, and that he hopes to cooperate with the winning parties of the parliamentary elections on August 30, 2020.

In the 2020 local elections, the DPS/SD list won 1.626 votes or 15 mandates, Democrats/Demos 310 votes or three mandates and SNP/NSD 1.381 votes or 13 mandates.

The government was formed by SND, NSD, Democrats and Demos with a total of 16 mandates. Last year, there was friction within the ruling coalition, so the government, due to the non-functioning of the local administration, introduced compulsory administration in March, and since then Andrijevica has been managed by a committee of creditors.

In Andrijevica, a group of citizens for several months last year prevented the holding of a session where a vote was to be taken on the dismissal of the municipal president Željko Ćulafić from the Socialist People's Party (SNP).

No major irregularities

The President of the Municipal Election Commission, Veselin Vulević, said that yesterday there were no major irregularities that could affect the result of the election, which was also confirmed by PES MP Darko Dragović last night.

Election day passed peacefully, and PES complained about election theft.

PES announced during the day that DPS is preparing election theft and that it will file a criminal complaint against Vulević.

They claimed that Vulević grossly violated the law, falsifying and abusing his position.

"He presented his personal opinion as an official decision of the Municipal Electoral Commission, which is a collective body and decides by the votes of the majority," the PES statement points out.

That party added that, acting on their urgent complaint, the State Election Commission (SEC) accepted the complaint, thus confirming the allegations of the PES about the illegal actions of the President of the MEC Andrijevic.

Vulević said that it was a complaint submitted by the SNP, which was rejected by the SEC.

The objection of the SNP referred to the conclusion of the Andrijevica MEC, which stated that the proposal to expand the polling boards was illegal because people from the SNP-Democrat list were proposed for the expanded composition.

The SEC rejected the complaint stating that the MEC did not have a quorum to work when reaching the conclusion and ordered the MEC to consider the SNP's proposal as soon as possible.