Elections in Berane on December 8

Milatović announced elections after the government dissolved the Beran parliament yesterday and appointed a committee of commissioners to replace it

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Photo: Miljana Kljajić
Photo: Miljana Kljajić
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

The President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, announced early elections in Berane for December 8.

Milatović wished all the participants of the upcoming election process a successful and fair campaign, and the citizens of Beran to get a government that will ensure the dynamic development of the city, his cabinet announced.

He called the elections after the government dissolved the Beran parliament yesterday and appointed a committee of commissioners to replace it.

On September 19, the Government issued a Decision warning the Assembly of the Municipality of Berane to fulfill its obligations established by law within ten days - to adopt the Strategic Development Plan of the Municipality of Berane, the Local Energy Plan of the Municipality of Berane and the Local Action Plan for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities from Discrimination and promotion of equality.

Given that the Beran parliament did not fulfill all obligations in ten days, the executive has the legal right to introduce forced administration.

On two occasions, the government asked the Berana municipality to respect the law and shorten their mandate because they did not elect a new president of the municipality within 30 days of the end of the mandate of Vuk Todorović, who resigned on June 13.

In yesterday's decision, the Government states that the provisions of Article 185 of the Law on Local Self-Government stipulate that the Government, in the event that the municipal assembly does not hold sessions for more than six months, does not execute the decisions of the competent courts or does not execute the obligations established by law, which makes it impossible to exercise the rights of citizens or causes significant material damage, to warn the assembly to ensure the fulfillment of its functions within a certain period, that is, to fulfill the obligations established by law.

"On the basis of the aforementioned authorization, and since the Assembly of the Municipality of Berane has not fulfilled its obligations established by law for a long period of time, which violates the interests of citizens in the territory of this municipality, the Government of Montenegro, at the session of September 19, 2024, passed the Decision on to the warning to the Assembly of the Municipality of Berane, which was published in the 'Official Gazette of Montenegro', dated September 23, 2024," reads the Government's explanation.

With this decision, they remind, the Assembly of the Municipality of Berane is warned to fulfill its obligations established by law within ten days, namely to adopt the Strategic Development Plan of the Municipality of Berane, the Local Energy Plan of the Municipality of Berane and the Local Action Plan for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities from Discrimination and the Promotion of Equality.

"bearing in mind that, even after a warning from the Government of Montenegro, the Assembly of the Municipality of Berane did not fulfill its obligations established by law, i.e. it did not adopt the Strategic Development Plan of the Municipality of Berane, the Local Energy Plan of the Municipality of Berane, as well as the Local Action Plan for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities from discrimination and the promotion of equality, which calls into question the realization of citizens' rights, at the proposal of the Ministry of Public Administration, the Government assessed that the conditions from Article 185 paragraph 2 of the Law on Local Self-Government have been met, which stipulates that the Government, at the proposal of the Ministry, will dissolve the assembly municipality if it does not establish the performance of its functions within a certain period, that is, it does not fulfill the obligations established by law", the explanation adds.

The municipality of Berane currently has no president, because Todorović resigned on June 13, and previously vice-president Damjan Ćulafić, who in the meantime was elected minister of ecology, and second vice-president Mladen Premović's mandate ended when Todorović's resignation was accepted.

The political crisis in Berane occurred after the failed attempt to rotate the position of the President of the Municipality.

The session of the local parliament, where the vote was supposed to be taken on shortening the mandate of councilors, was not held in September because the president of the SO Milun Rmuš did not appear for "health reasons".

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