MPs who are also leaders of municipalities or local parliaments will have to give up one of the positions they hold.
This results from the decisions of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK) made on September 25, which annul last year's decisions of that institution, made while she was at the head of it. Jelena Perović - that the then presidents of the municipalities of Bar, Kolašin and Tuzi, Dušan Raičević, Vladimir Martinovic i Nick Djelosaj, are not in a conflict of interest, even though, in addition to that function, they also performed parliamentary duties.
The cancellation of last year's decisions of the ASK means, in practice, that it is not possible to sit in two seats either according to the new law or according to the decision that institution made when Perović was at its head.
In the recently valid Law on Prevention of Corruption, the application of which began in 2016 and based on which municipal presidents could also be members of parliament, there was no mention of local self-government bodies (municipal president and municipal assembly). It was written that "a public official who performs tasks in the state administration and local administration bodies (secretariats, agencies, municipal administrations...) cannot perform the function of deputy and councilor".
In September last year, KAS, explaining why Raičević, Martinović and Đeljošaj are not in a conflict of interest, stated that these are not incompatible functions, because the tasks performed by the mayor of the municipality do not belong to the tasks performed in the state administration (ministries and bodies state administration), "nor local government bodies (consisting of secretariats, administrations and directorates), but according to the Law on Local Self-Government they belong to the local self-government body". Those solutions no longer exist in the legal system.
In June of this year, as part of the so-called of the IBAR Law, the Law on Prevention of Corruption was adopted, according to which "an official who performs tasks in the state administration and local administration and local self-government bodies cannot perform the function of a deputy".
Meanwhile, Martinović and Đeljošaj became ministers and left their parliamentary positions, but the first man from Nikšić sat down in the parliamentary seats. Marko Kovacevic, that is, the Bar Parliament Branislav Nenezić. Raičević is still an MP.
At the end of June, Kovačević and Raičević were warned by ASK that according to the new law they will not be able to remain in both positions. The President of Bar Municipality then told "Vijesta" that if it becomes a legal obligation, he will give up one of his functions.
In this interpretation, the ASK recalls the article of the new law, which mentions local self-government bodies, and adds that "the appointee is obliged to resign from public office within 30 days of receiving the notification" from the Agency and inform the Agency about the above. The opinion was signed by Perović, who was under house arrest at the time because the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) suspects her of abuse of official position.
The Agency sent the same opinion to Kovačević, who was also informed earlier that the new law has entered into force and that he will have to resign from one of his positions. In the opinion dated August 1, which ASK published on its website, it is written that Kovačević addressed them on July 25 and stated that he was elected as the president of the Municipality of Nikšić on May 10, 2021, and as a deputy on April 16 of this year, "and that it follows that the Law does not apply to him in terms of the obligation to resign from one of the functions at this time, but to cases of incompatibility of functions after the entry into force of the new Law".
On August 30, ASK announced that it is not incompatible with the position of councilor, but that the position of the president and vice president of the municipality, as well as the president and vice president of the municipal assembly, is incompatible.
Because of "sitting in two armchairs", ASK, of which he has recently headed Dušan Drakić, initiated proceedings against two Podgorica councilors who, in addition to that, also held other positions. President of the committee club of the New Serbian Democracy Mitar Susic has also held the position of a member of the Board of Directors of the ToMontenegro company since January, while she is now a member of the Evropa Movement Tamara Tapuskovic from December 2023 in the governing body of the Clinical Center of Montenegro.
Šušić, answering the question of "Vijesti" that as a lawyer and jurist clarify the articles of the Law that are considered to have been violated, stated that he, as a councilor, is the only one not allowed to be on the board of directors of a company founded by the municipality.
The agency previously made several decisions according to which citizens' representatives in local parliaments violated the law, because they were also on the boards of directors of state-owned enterprises.
To resign from one of the functions
KAS announced this morning that it annulled all previous decisions which interpreted that the functions of the president and vice-president of the municipality, and the president and vice-president of the municipal assembly, are compatible with the function of deputies.
"Decisions that have been repealed are available on the Agency's official website and will be delivered to all persons to whom they apply. We invite all public officials who currently hold the position of deputy and at the same time the position of president or vice president of the municipality, as well as president or vice president of the municipal assembly, to resign from one of those functions, in accordance with the Law on Prevention of Corruption. KAS will continue with a systematic review of all legal interpretations in order to ensure legality, consistent application of regulations and prevent conflicts of interest in public administration," the statement said.
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