Head of the Podgorica Parliament Jelena Borovinić Bojović will most likely lead the list of part of the parties of the former Democratic Front (DF) and several other smaller pro-Serbian parties in the upcoming special elections in the capital, "Vijesti" has learned unofficially.
These political actors should go to the polls together, since it is likely that a large coalition consisting of the ruling parties from the state level will not be formed, as advocated by the constituents of the former DF - the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) and the Democratic People's Party (DNP). ).
Several "Vijesti" sources claim that it is almost certain that Borovinić Bojović, the former Minister of Health, will be at the head of the list of alliances whose backbone will be the former DF, adding that there were several other names in the game for the holder. Among them are the state secretary in the Ministry of Tourism Vuk Žižić and secretary of the Secretariat for Communal Affairs in Podgorica Andrija Babović - both members of NSD Andrije Mandić.
One interlocutor of "Vijesti" said that Žižić, the son of the late prominent Montenegrin politician and Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) Zoran Žižić, a good option, but that Borovinić Bojović, as a non-partisan person, "has a better rating" in the capital.
In the previous elections in Podgorica, held in October 2022, she also led the list gathered around the former DF, which was called "For the future of Podgorica" and won 11 mandates. In that alliance were also Prava Montenegro, Free Montenegro and the Yugoslav Communist Party. Prava and Slobodna should be part of the coalition for the upcoming elections.
The leader of the DNP hinted the night before last that the story of a grand coalition is practically over Milan Knezevic saying at the session of the Podgorica party committee that they will participate in the elections with "traditional coalition partners". However, he also said that they "remain open to the broadest coalition that would defend the results from 2022 when the DPS was convincingly defeated", but that they do not agree to be "hostages to the struggle that is taking place these days in some parties, and it refers to the senseless the race of who will be the holder of the list".
It was speculated that in addition to the former DF, the Europe Now Movement (PES) and the Democrats could be in the grand coalition, and possibly the Socialist People's Party (SNP) and the Bosniak Party (BS), which has recently been part of the state government. As "Vijesti" announced on Tuesday, there were no negotiations with BS about entering into a coalition arrangement.
A "Vijesti" source from PES said yesterday that the party has not yet decided in which arrangement it will go to the polls, and that the options, apart from a broad coalition that is almost ruled out, are an alliance with the Democrats and an independent appearance. According to unofficial information from "Vijesti", negotiations between PES and the Democrats are ongoing. The Democrats announced the night before last, after the session of their Podgorica committee, that if they were to act independently, the list holder would be the Minister of Internal Affairs and their official Danilo Šaranović.
The interlocutor from PES claims that, in the event that they also go to the elections themselves, the holder of the list will be the minister of energy and the president of the Podgorica committee of their party Saša Mujović or the former mayor of Podgorica and high official of PES Olivera Injac. "Vijesti", however, announced on several occasions that Mujović has the best chance of being the holder in case of an independent performance.
In the elections two years ago, PES won 13 mandates, and the Democrats (with coalition partners) won six.
So far, as "Vijesti" wrote, it is certain that the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), the European Union, the Party of European Progress, the former prime minister, will run independently in the elections. Duško Marković, the list of the recent Minister of Justice Andrej Milović, the "Forward" movement of his predecessor in office Marko Kovač, the "Revolution" movement and some other smaller political subjects. It is possible that BS will perform in the same way.
Lista Milović, Kovač - which will be led by the director of the Health Insurance Fund Vuk Kadic and Marković, this will be the first appearance at the polls, "Preokret" participated in the previous elections in Podgorica and some other municipalities, while the European Union, whose list will be carried by a member of the Social Democrats (SD) Boris Mugoša, performing for the first time in this format in the capital.
On the other hand, in the coalition, the Movement for Podgorica, the Civic Movement (GP) URA and the Movement for Change (PzP) should go to the polls, within the political bloc that gathers the head of state Jakov Milatovic. That list should be headed by the deputy mayor of Podgorica and an official of the GP URA Luka Rakcevic.
Elections in Podgorica are scheduled for September 29, after the mandate of the local parliament was recently shortened by the votes of opposition councilors, the Movement for Podgorica close to Milatović, GP URA and one PzP councilwoman. The outgoing government in Podgorica consists of PES, a coalition gathered around the former DF, Demokrata and GP URA.
The deadline for submitting ballots for the elections in Podgorica starts today and will last until midnight on September 3.
DPS councils between newcomers or deputies
DPS, the party that should be led in the elections by the deputy and the head of its committee in the capital Nermin Abdić, weighing between whether their list should include mostly new, that is, lesser-known and unknown faces to the public, or the most recognizable ones from the state parliament.
A source from that party said that they are in this dilemma for two reasons.
"Firstly because, according to the new Law on Prevention of Corruption, it may be decided that MPs can no longer be councilors. Another reason is that the question is whether, because of the whole story, it would be better to go to the elections with new people", said the interlocutor.
In the previous elections in the capital, the DPS participated in a broad coalition with the SD, the Social Democratic Party, the Liberal Party (the three of them formed the European Union), the BS, the New Left, and the Citizens' Initiative "21. maj" (announced that they will not participate in these elections in Podgorica) and the Democratic Roma Party.
That alliance won the most mandates in those elections - 24, but DPS lost power in Podgorica after almost a quarter of a century.
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