The list of the Movement for Podgorica (PzPG), the Civic Movement (GP) URA and the Movement for Change (PzP) for the upcoming elections in Podgorica includes 11 candidates for councilors who were on the list of the Europe Now Movement (PES) for the last elections in the capital , held almost two years ago.
Those are Nađa Ljiljanić, Balša Spadijer, Dragutin Drago Vučinić, Miloš Krstović, Ranka Otašević, Ana Djelević, Nikola Radulović, Ivana Ljumović, Lina Lakić, Dennis Hot i Jevrosima Pejović.
Bearing in mind that PES submitted a list of 2022 candidates for the previous elections in Podgorica, held at the end of October 58, this means that about 19 percent (18,96) of them are now on the list of PzPG, GP URA and PzP -a. That is, close to a fifth.
Most of these people hold important public functions - Ljiljanić, Vučinić, Otašević and Pejović are PzPG councilors in the Podgorica parliament, Špadijer is the capital city's finance secretary, and Hot is the acting director of the city enterprise "Čistoća".
PzPG, which is close to the head of state Jakov Milatović, was created by a split in PES. At the end of February, Milatović left the party, of which he was one of the founders, saying that the previous way of working of PES was contrary to the promises and values he had in mind during its creation.
He was the second man (deputy president) of that party, which is with the prime minister Milojko Spajić made two years ago and which during that time won the presidential and parliamentary elections and took power in several cities, including Podgorica.
On several occasions after leaving PES, when asked by the media if he planned to form a party, Milatović replied that currently Montenegro is his party, but that if "democratic processes demand it" of him, he will not run away from "that responsibilities". Recently, however, he said that as a "responsible politician, as a native of Podgorica, who is vitally connected to the city", he cannot watch from the sidelines "the crushing of hope for changes", and that therefore he has "the responsibility to be involved in the election process in Podgorica".
On Tuesday, he presented the coalition of PzPG, GP URA and PzP, whose electoral list has his name in the name - "For a better Podgorica - Jakov Milatović". The bearer is an official of GP URA and deputy mayor of Podgorica, Luka Rakcevic.
About three-fifths (60 percent) of the places on the list went to PzPG, a little more than a third (35 percent) to GP URA, and the rest (five percent) to PzP.
During the presentation of the coalition, Milatović said that he chose not to turn his head to the other side in the face of bad practices - either at the local or state level, and that he chose to fight "for a better Podgorica and a better Montenegro".
Two years ago, the head of state was the holder of the PES list in the elections in Podgorica, where that party won 21,7 percent of the votes, that is, 13 seats in the capital's parliament.
Although he had the best chance to be the mayor of Podgorica, Milatović, since Spajić was disqualified from the race for the position of head of state at the beginning of last year (due to dual citizenship), became a candidate for the presidency, only to be elected to that position.
Bearing in mind that PES submitted a list of 2022 candidates for the previous elections in Podgorica, held at the end of October 58, this means that about 19 percent (18,96) of them are now on the list of PzPG, GP URA and PzP -a
Elections in Podgorica are scheduled for September 29, after the mandate of the local parliament was shortened at the end of July by the votes of the councilors of the opposition, PzPG, GP URA and one PzP councilwoman. The outgoing government in Podgorica consists of PES, a coalition gathered around the former Democratic Front (DF), Democrats and GP URA.
The deadline for submitting ballots for the elections in Podgorica began on August 17 and will last until midnight on September 3.
Bonus video:
