There is no government in Budva without treading on words

Budva will gain power only if the political actors who participated in the local elections trample on the words given before and after the vote, about who they will not cooperate with and who should be at the head of that municipality.

It is the epilogue of yesterday's, the fourth election in that coastal municipality in the last four years, after which a continuation of the political blockade in it is more likely than a way out of the impasse.

The ruling parties from the state level experienced a huge decline at the polls - of about 15 percent compared to the May elections. Then together they won 4.821 votes, and yesterday 4.096 votes, that is - 725 less.

Regardless, when you look at the mandates won, the outcome of the election is quite similar to the one in May. According to data from the coalition of Democrats and the Europe Now Movement (PES) from all polling stations, the list "For the future of Budva" translated by Mladen Mikijelja won 2.979 votes (25,93 percent, nine mandates), "Budva our city" by Nikola Jovanović 2.907 (25,30, 2.522 percent, nine mandates), Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) 21,95 (1.117 percent, seven mandates), Democrats and PES 9,72 (736 percent, three mandates), Đorđe Zenović's "Movement for the City" 6,41 votes (678, 5,90 percent, two mandates), the European Union 412 votes (3,59 percent, two mandates), and the Civic Movement (GP) URA XNUMX votes (XNUMX percent and one mandate).

Božidar Vujičić's "Civil Action" did not win parliamentary status, which received the support of 138 citizens (1,20 percent).

The fall of the Spajić-Bečić alliance

In the elections, the alliance of Democrats and PES fared worst, whose support in the Budva assembly was cut in half: until yesterday they had six councilors in it, and as of last night - three. That coalition won 862 votes less than those two parties earned in total in the May elections, when they ran separately - then they had a total of 1.979 votes.

However, it should be borne in mind that in the previous elections, Đorđe Zenović participated with the Democrats, who came out independently yesterday and achieved an excellent result, and with PES "Nova Budva", which this time was with Mikijeljev's list. When the support received by Zenović is added to the Democrats and PES (the effect of the support of "Nova Budva" cannot be calculated), it turns out that the alliance of the parties of Prime Minister Milojko Spajić (PES) and Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Bečić (Democrats) lost the mandate and 126 votes.

On the other hand, in the elections, the largest increase in support, although it remained at the same number of mandates, was achieved by the opposition DPS, which received 294 more votes than in May - then they had 2.228.

The lists of Jovanović and Mikijelj also had an increase in the number of votes, but not seats in the local parliament. The first increased by 236 votes - in May it had 2.671, and the second by 137 - in the previous elections, 2.842 voters voted for it.

The increase in support and mandate was achieved by the European Union, a coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the Social Democrats and the Liberal Party, which earned (another) parliamentary seat and 164 more votes. Half a year ago, 514 citizens "circled" them at the polling stations.

Apart from the Democrats-PES alliance, GP URA also had less support in yesterday's elections, which received 138 fewer votes - in May it had 550. Despite this, that party retained one mandate.

How to get to the majority

Bearing in mind that the Budva Municipal Assembly (SO) has 33 council seats, for the formation of the government it will be necessary for one of the political actors to provide the support of at least 17 "armchairs".

It is possible to reach that number with different combinatorics, but after last night's messages from the parties, it is unlikely that this will happen. Unless, as has been said, the promises made are trampled upon.

Mikijelje's list, which does not want cooperation with DPS, and its part - New Serbian Democracy (NSD) is not accepted by Jovanović, with partners from the state government (Democrats and PES), Zenović and GP URA - can throw up to 15 insufficient mandates.

Jovanović, who ruled out cooperation with DPS, with the support of Zenović, the Democrats-PES coalition and GP URA could also have up to 15 "hands". If the mandates of the European Union were added to that, the government could be formed, but they said that they do not want cooperation with the parties of the state government, which means that the parties of Spajić and Bečić cannot be included in the calculation, and therefore - there is no government.

One of the scenarios, which is also unlikely, is that councilors who do not belong to NSD - six of them - would be separated from Mikielj, and in that case the "Budva nas grad" list would need two "hands" in the local assembly for constitution. authorities, and they could potentially ask for them from Zenović, who in turn insists that his list leads Budva.

When it comes to DPS, mathematically speaking, it would be the easiest to come to power with that party, but, at least for now, there are no indications that any of the "big" Budva political actors are ready for such a thing.

All the mentioned combinatorics are, however, on a long stick, because the participants of the election have made demands not only in terms of who they are ready to cooperate with, but also who should be at the head of Budva.

Mandić would like the quarreling parties to reconcile

Last night, Mikijelj (NSD), after the announcement of the preliminary results, told the journalists that if all political actors adhere to what they said in the election campaign, the government will be formed without DPS, and that "the key responsibility in running Budva" will be download his list.

He said that he invites everyone who does not want the DPS to return to power, to sit down at the negotiating table.

"Budva is fed up with being tapped in the place, we lost almost a year... What Budva looked like without us in decision-making positions, was best seen during the previous summer tourist season. I am convinced that the citizens of Budva do not want that, but they want to create political stability, to form a stable government, to have time to prepare the next summer tourist season", said Mikijelj at a press conference at the headquarters of the list he led.

His party leader and leader of the state parliament, Andrija Mandić, indirectly invited Mikijelj and Jovanovic to reconcile. Recalling that he has been in politics for a long time, he stated that he invested a lot of energy to form the "For the Future of Montenegro" coalition in 2020 with the leaders of other former opposition parties, which then won the national elections. He said that they had "enough latitude" to understand each other, that there were plenty of harsh words...

"I would like everyone to be able to rise above those small, petty, human weaknesses, to sit down at the table and come to an agreement as the rules of democracy provide. So - Mladen Mikijelj, the mayor of Budva...", he underlined, adding that the list "For the future of Budva" will remain unique, that is, there will be no "separation" of it.

The list holder of that coalition, Dragana Kažanegra Stanišić (Democrats), announced that Budva remained "buried in the trenches", but that there is an option to form a government "if there is enough political responsibility, maturity and wisdom".

"If personal vanity is put aside and only the interest of our city and citizens is taken into account, the formation of government is possible. As a political entity, we are very serious, cooperative and constructive. If all political subjects remain in the background and the messages they sent during the election campaign - namely that those who won the largest number of votes will not join the coalition with DPS, there will be enough space to form a government between these political subjects," she said. is Kažanegra Stanišić at the press conference.

When asked who is closer to her than those who won the largest number of votes, she answered: "We are equally distant".

Zenović: Partners are those who accept that we lead Budva

Đorđe Zenović reiterated that the movement he leads will not give up on its proclaimed principles, that is - that he will not support anyone to lead Budva.

"All those who will accept our four principles, all those who will accept that we lead the process, that is, that we give the president of the municipality - are our partners", he said.

Zenović left the Democrats after that party agreed with PES on a coalition in Budva. Previously, he harshly criticized the Government for the way it works and party recruitment, and last night he assessed that Budva is a "suffering city" that was destroyed by parties.

"To thank the citizens of Budva, I think they answered the task, that they reacted in an adequate way. What we expected during the entire campaign came true... The fight was tough. We dealt with serious machinery, and in the end we achieved an impressive result. That result is just a prelude to the next battles that await us for our city," he claims.

The holder of the DPS list, Nikola Milović, said that without that party there will be no formation of a stable government in Budva, hinting that it will not support anyone for the formation of a minority government.

Asked if the DPS would give such support to Zenović or Jovanović, he replied - that there was enough politicking around Budva.

"If this city and citizens really want changes, and they showed that tonight, then as responsible people we will share responsibility, agree on projects and connect Budva through progress. There will be no conditioning, and our spine will not bend," stated Milović.

The opposition demands extraordinary parliamentary elections

He assessed that the parties that make up the Government have collapsed, and that early parliamentary elections are the only way out.

"Our backbone is unbreakable... The growth trend of DPS is inexorable. But what is even more inexorable - the government parties experienced a complete breakdown in Budva", he said.

Milović added that the coalition of the former Democratic Front ("For the Future of Budva"), Democrats and PES won 12 out of 33 mandates, while in May they had - 15.

"These elections, like the ones in May, showed that this Government and the parliamentary majority do not have the legitimacy to govern the country... When the Government loses trust in such a radical way, the only logical solution is extraordinary parliamentary elections. As I said on May 26, I repeat tonight - without DPS, there is no stable government in Budva. This is the victory of the real, true, civilized and cultural Budva, and the one we will fight for - sovereign Budva", he said.

The holder of the list of the European Union, Petar Odžić (SDP), said that they proved in the elections that "exponents of the politics of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić", will no longer rule Budva.

"We managed to double the number of mandates, and we are extremely satisfied with our result. We fulfilled our second promise, which is that the parties of the state government suffered a huge defeat in Budva. This will be a sure fix for all citizens of Budva in the coming period. Also, it is more than obvious after Podgorica and Kotor, that Budva also said that Montenegro needs extraordinary parliamentary elections, where they will finally get rid of the parties of Vučić's rule, parties that do not respect Montenegro, and to return Montenegro to our citizens. , our roots", he stated at the press conference.

Odžić: We will not work with the ruling parties

Asked if they exclude anyone from the combinations for the formation of the government, Odžić answered in the affirmative.

"We didn't sit down with the Democratic Front last time either, and we won't sit down now either. Also, we said that all parties from the state government will be in the opposition and what we promised - that will happen," he said.

Odžić added that it is too early to talk about negotiations on the formation of the government.

"Our ambitions in the future government are great. What we are certainly ready to do is to never allow this kind of institutional and political crisis in Budva again, for Budva to be the city of the Mediterranean and the city of all its citizens, regardless of which god they pray to, which party card they carry, which religions and nations they are . Budva should be the city of all of us, the queen of the Mediterranean and a tourist destination, and not the palanquin they have made in recent years," he said.

The holder of the GP URA list, Blažo Rađenović, said that the party "under very difficult circumstances" defended the result from May.

"Budva has definitely shown that there is no legitimacy here. The 44th Government, its constituents and all political entities that participate in it. In the overall result, they got something like 35 percent (of votes). I think that this is a clear message that changes are coming not only in Budva, but that changes will come at the level of the whole of Montenegro. I am using the opportunity to call for a gathering of all civil, European, people who want Budva to do well, for Budva to move forward, to deliver results, to be a real service to all citizens of Budva. We are ready for an agreement, and I think so are the other constituents who wish Budva well...", he stated.

Rađenović said that in GP URA they have no problem talking to everyone who has "Budva in their hearts, who has Budva in the first place" and who want a departure from the policy that existed.

Abazović: Let's be responsible so that there are no new elections

Dritan Abazović, president of the URA GP, assessed that those who govern Montenegro - "have no legitimacy to govern Budva, nor Montenegro".

"In this context, I think it is clear in which direction the government should be formed, but we will not put any pressure on anyone," he claims.

Abazović said that their municipal board "will behave towards all initiatives completely rationally".

"We want to congratulate everyone on the election result, but one thing must be clear - what we currently have in place at the state level is a mockery that is experiencing a bigger and bigger debacle every day. If those people don't think they should retire themselves - then okay. We will continue our mission, to tell an honest story, freed from organized crime, nationalism, populism and all the rotten policies that hold this country in its clutches, especially Budva. In that name, I expect that we behave responsibly, that the government is finally formed and that we do not end up in a situation where, for example in April, we go to some repeated elections..." he stated.

The two political camps in Budva, created by the split of the former single Democratic Front coalition led by the now detained President of the Municipality of Budva Milo Božović - the list "For the Future of Budva" led by Mikijelj and "Budva nas grad" headed by Jovanović, have not managed to secure since the May elections the majority of 17 councilors needed to constitute the government.

That is why the Democrats submitted an initiative for their then-list holder Zenović to be the head of the SO, with the expectation that he would receive the support of 26 councilors, that is, all the parties that "adopted" the Democrats as a safe coalition partner in the future government.

However, although it was expected that his election would lead to a compromise and the formation of a government, this did not happen because the Democrats withdrew the initiative when it became likely that he would not receive support. After the deadline for the constitution of the parliament expired, the head of state announced elections.

Turnout higher than in May, elections without incidents

According to the data of the Democrats-PES coalition, the turnout in yesterday's elections in Budva was 60,88 percent.

According to the same data, 11.678 voters went to the polls, out of 19.183 registered.

In the elections held at the end of May, the turnout was 59,75 percent.

Then, according to the final data of the Budva election commission, 11.374 voters voted out of 19.034 registered voters.

Election day passed without incident.

DNP, SNP and Democrats have two councilors each, PES one

Mikijelje's list in the new convocation of the Budva parliament will be represented by three NSD councilors, two from Milan Knežević's Democratic People's Party (DNP), two from the Socialist People's Party (DNP), and one each from the Movement for Change and "New Budva".

The Democrats-PES coalition will be represented by two councilors from Bečić's party and one from Spajić's.

When it comes to the European Union, both of their councilors will be from SDP.

Vujičić: The parties brought voters to the polls as if it were work

The holder of the "Voice for Change" list, Božidar Vujičić, the only one that remained below the census, said last night that he was deeply disappointed with the results of the election, assessing that "the system of corruption in the city has been further strengthened."

"There are no changes, only new editions of the old system," he said, Radio Television Budva reported.

Vujičić's list, which did not win parliamentary status even in the previous elections, won 11 fewer votes yesterday than in May - then it received 149.

According to him, the elections showed that the parties succeeded in mobilizing their voters, mostly employed in the local administration, and in this way secured another mandate for themselves.

"This is not an expression of the will of the citizens, but an expression of the power of the political parties that brought their voters to the polls as if it were a job," said Vujičić.

He warned that "this way of conducting politics will lead to new problems in the city, especially in the field of urban planning". He added that the citizens who supported him showed a "high awareness of the problems facing Budva", but that, unfortunately, they were in the minority.

Vujičić said that he is convinced that his predictions "about the negative consequences of this way of managing the city will soon come true".

"I expect that we will witness a new wave of illegal construction, corruption and nepotism. Budva will continue to collapse, and the citizens will bear the consequences", he concluded.