The coalition for a better Podgorica in the upcoming negotiations on the formation of the government in the capital will not deviate from the request that the holder of their list, Luka Rakčević, be the mayor, while there are nuances in the views on possible cooperation with the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), sources from this told "Vijesta" alliance.
On Thursday evening, the DPS called for negotiations on the formation of the government in Podgorica, the parties that won mandates in the local parliament, but do not form the ruling majority at the state level.
They are the coalition for a better Podgorica, which consists of the Movement for Podgorica of Jakov Milatović, the Civic Movement URA and the Movement for Changes, the European Union (Social Democrats, the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party), the Party of European Progress (SEP) of former Prime Minister Duško Marković and the Movement for Upheaval.
According to unofficial information from "Vijesti", Dritan Abazović's GP URA is more inclined to cooperate with DPS than they are in the Movement for Podgorica.
Yesterday, the representatives of this coalition did not officially answer whether they would go to the negotiations scheduled by the DPS for Monday afternoon, and whether and under what conditions they would form a government with that party.
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Considering the mandates won and the views of all the participants in the elections on possible post-election coalitions, all six councilors of the Za bolja Podgorica alliance are needed to form a government with DPS and the rest of the opposition.
The Election Commission of the Capital City announced on Wednesday evening the final results of the local elections in Podgorica held on September 29, after the Constitutional Court rejected appeals on alleged irregularities in the elections. According to the Law on the Election of Councilors and Members of Parliament, parties have 30 days from the announcement of the official election results to form a government.
DPS won 19 mandates in the elections, the coalition of the Europe Now Movement (PES) and Democratic Montenegro 14, the coalition for the future of Podgorica 13, the list "Za bolju Podgorica - Jakov Milatović" six, the European Union three and the Party of European Progress and the Movement for Change two each mandate.
The Assembly of the Capital City has 59 councilors, and the constitution of the government requires the support of at least 30 of them. The ruling parties from the state level and the opposition DPS can reach that number only through an alliance with the list supported by Milatović. If the government is not constituted by the end of November, new elections will be called.
Actors of the state government have repeatedly said that they will not cooperate with DPS in Podgorica, while PES leader Milojko Spajić said that in the PES-Democrats coalition they believe that the holder of their list, Minister of Energy Saša Mujović, is "the best candidate for mayor".
The DPS previously said that the formation of a minority government with the support of the DPS will not be on the table during the talks and that this model is "out of the question". An interlocutor from that party told "Vijesti" that the probability of supporting Rakčević for mayor is "minimal", although he does not rule it out completely.
The interlocutor from the top of Milatović's coalition said that it will be difficult to form a government in Podgorica with the parties from the parliamentary majority, unless "there is a change in their views on the way of governing".
Therefore, neither the DPS nor the coalition for a better Podgorica rule out the possibility of not forming a government at all, but of going to new elections.
Preokreta leader Srđan Perić repeated that he will not negotiate with DPS. He previously said that he will not negotiate with any party for power.
"The vote for Uopret in these elections was a vote of protest in relation to the existing political practices of capturing the city and the state by parties and making politics meaningless, which boils down not to what you will do, but how much you will be able to grab. What we promised the citizens before the election, we will honor after the election, which is that we will not participate in fostering this practice, and that means neither in negotiations that would continue it or further strengthen it", Perić told "Vijesta".
Currently, as he says, this is only possible from the position of a protest voice from which he will "propose solutions in favor of citizens, remind them of pre-election promises, strengthen the work of local communities, exert pressure to open up local self-government to citizens, work on launching initiatives for local referendum..."
"So, as a first step, we will strengthen the role of citizens in the local self-government system. As our strength grows, our approach will be more and more active and effective," he said.
From the European Union, whose members were previously coalition partners of the DPS, they say that a stable majority should be formed from the entities that received votes on the departure from the current government's policy, so any initiative in that direction is welcome.
They point out that any potential agreement must be reached on the basis of a clear and precise program platform about everything that needs to be done in the next four-year period in order for Podgorica to be an exemplary city.
"The development of the European city is our priority. Of course, we are not unknown in the public and it is known what is the value framework within which we can talk with potential partners and we will certainly not make compromises to the detriment of value principles. The city government will either be civil and European, or, as far as we are concerned, it will not be", they told "Vijesta" from the European Union.
The Party of European Progress says that when they receive an official invitation from the DPS, they will decide on talks and potential negotiations.
"The parliamentary status achieved by the SEP implies participation in political processes, and part of those processes are conversations with those who estimate that they should initiate them," SEP told "Vijesta".
The first meeting on the formation of the government in Podgorica is scheduled for Monday at 17 p.m. at the Hilton Hotel.
"The deposed government did not receive majority support"
In the call to the parties, DPS states that the elections in the capital took place as a result of a political crisis in the parliamentary majority, which prevented the regular functioning of the city.
"The elections behind us brought a plurality of different political offers and visions of how the Capital should be run in the coming period. However, they also had one common determinant concerning the relationship with the parliamentary majority that leads the Government of Montenegro. In the elections held, the citizens determined according to the program offers, but at the same time they also voted on confidence in the parties in power and the results of such a vote are clear: the replaced government in Podgorica did not receive majority support, and the current parliamentary majority, which in the elections in the capital city two electoral lists (the Coalition PES-Democrats and the Coalition for the Future of Montenegro) achieved 27 out of a total of 59 mandates. With this vote, the majority of the citizens of Podgorica said they wanted changes, both at the local and state level," the invitation stated. .
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