The parties of the state government convincingly triumphed in yesterday's extraordinary elections in Berane, winning close to 80 percent of the seats in the local parliament, so they will be able to create the local government in several ways.
Coalition of the Movement Europe Now (PES) Prime Minister Milojko Spajić and the Socialist People's Party (SNP) Vladimir Joković it received a third of the votes, while the parties of the former Democratic Front (the list "For the future of Berana") have a mandate less than in the previous local elections.
On the other hand, the opposition Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) will have two councilors less than before, the European Union did not pass the census, while the list "Because I love Berane" Vesko Mujović, who had not gone to the polls until now, made one of the biggest surprises of the election, winning two mandates.
According to the Democrats' data, the alliance of PES and SNP won 4.545 votes (33,35 percent or 13 mandates), the "For the Future of Berana" coalition won 2.970 votes (21,79 percent, eight mandates), DPS 1.920 (14,09 .1.706 percent, five mandates), Democrats 12,52 (873 percent, four mandates), "Zato sto volim Berane" list 6,41 (828 percent, two mandates), and the Bosniak Party (BS) 6,08 (XNUMX percent, two mandates).
Parliamentary status was not won by Free Montenegro, which received 388 votes (2,85 percent), the European Union, which had 257 (1,89 percent), and the "Živimo za mladost" list, which was supported by 82 voters (0,60 percent). , as well as the Justice and Reconciliation Party, which earned 58 votes (0,43 percent).
The Beran parliament has 34 seats, so the formation of the government requires the support of at least 18 councilors. The state government parties can reach that number through several models of mutual cooperation.
If all of them - the list PES-SNP, "For the future of Beran", Democrats and BS - agreed to cooperate, the government would have 27 "hands" in the local assembly. The PES-SNP alliance could come to power only with the coalition "For the future of Beran", and in that case they would have 21 mandates. One possibility is that PES and SNP go with the Democrats and BS - then they would have the support of 19 councilors.
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Who fell and who grew
Although it achieved by far the best result, the coalition of PES and SNP received about 1.200 votes less than those two parties in total had in last year's early parliamentary elections, when PES was in alliance with smaller lists and SNP with Demos - then the party of Prime Minister Spajić received 3.729 votes, and the party of Minister of Agriculture Joković 2.057.
Yesterday's result of that coalition is difficult to compare with the previous local elections in Berane, held at the beginning of spring 2022. That year, the SNP won 2.821 votes and seven mandates, while PES did not exist as a party. However, Prime Minister Spajić, who at that time was the minister of finance in the government Zdravka Krivokapića, he supported the "Berane sad" list, which won 1.601 votes and four mandates, but it did not become part of PES, which was formed in the summer of that year.
When it comes to the alliance "For the Future of Beran", which consists of the New Serbian Democracy (NSD), the Democratic People's Party (DNP), United Montenegro and Prava Montenegro, it won about 1.100 votes less than those parties together received in at the polling stations in 2022, bearing in mind that at that time they appeared in three columns (NSD and DNP together with the Movement for Change and the Workers' Party, and United and Prava independently). The decline is also visible in the number of mandates, because two years ago they had a total of nine, and now one less.
Compared to the parliamentary elections, the "For the Future of Berana" list won about 1.000 more votes yesterday. However, in the state elections with NSD Andrije Mandić, DNP-om Milan Knežević and the Workers' Party did not have United and Prava, so it is questionable whether we can talk about an increase in support.
As for the Democrats Alekse Bečić, compared to the last local elections, they lost two mandates and about 750 votes, but compared to the parliamentary elections, when they received the support of 1.345 citizens with the URA Citizens' Movement, they gained about 360 votes.
The strongest opposition party from the state level, DPS, received nearly 150 votes less than it earned last year in the alliance with the Social Democrats (SD), the Liberal Party (LP) and the Democratic Union of Albanians. Bearing in mind that the SD and LP participated in these elections with the Social Democratic Party (SDP), as the European Union, receiving the support of 257 voters, it could be said that the DPS is at more or less the same level as last year.
However, comparing yesterday's results with those from 2022, when SD, BS and LP were with DPS, it can be seen that the party whose leader Danijel Zivkovic lost two mandates in parliament - two years ago she had seven, and SD and BS one each. In relation to the number of votes, there were nearly 1.900 fewer votes yesterday (almost twice less) than in the previous local elections, but if yesterday's support for the European Union and BS is subtracted from that total, DPS is "in the red" by nearly 800 votes.
When it comes to BS, that party "increased" by (one) mandate in the Assembly of the Municipality (SO) of Berane and by over 400 votes compared to the parliamentary elections. That is, she almost doubled the support.
Joković announced "a renaissance like in Kolašin"
Holder of the list of PES and SNP Djole Lutovac, said last night that he will quickly enter into the formation of the government, which, he claims, will lead to the improvement of the standards of the citizens of Beran. He said that their "new victories" began in yesterday's elections.
"The campaign was fair, which gives impulses that we will quickly enter into the formation of the government...", he added.
President of Beran SNP Ivan Radević, said that their coalition is open to all post-election alliances with the parties that ended the three-decade rule of the DPS on August 30, 2020.
The leader of the SNP, Joković, assessed that their alliance with the PES won more than the parties that were in power in Berane until now.
"Investments such as the highway are announced from the state level. Berane will be connected to Belgrade and Podgorica and will experience a renaissance like Kolašin. In the next four years, Berane will get a highway, and Montenegro will be part of the EU," he said.
The head of the PES, Spajić, announced that all the ideas that the people from the coalition had will be supported from the central level, "so that Berane, after years of neglect, would become an exemplary place".
The leader of the Democrats, Bečić, said that he was looking forward to a "stable government" in Berane, "which will last for four years, and where we will participate significantly".
"We lack about a dozen votes for the fifth mandate. We have shown that this is an indomitable party, which has a stable electorate both at the local and state level..." said Bečić.
He said that the Democrats' result gives reason for optimism.
"You see now, the Democrats have kept the mandates they had in the elections in five municipalities (Gusinje, Andrijevica, Berane, Podgorica, Budva) for almost the entire mandate. We have an army of people who are following us, we are reaching our mandates with clean hands," underlined Bečić .
Holder of the list of Democrats Bozo Premovic, he assessed that this party has shown that they can go to the polls on their own.
"I want to thank you for every vote, I believe that every vote was given from the heart, you showed us that you want me to be part of the government. We have a difficult period ahead of us, I hope that, as you gave us the trust earlier, that we will have your of trust for the next four years," he said.
Ibrahimović: BS politicians are trusted
Leader of BS Ervin Ibrahimovic he said that that party achieved a "fantastic result".
"We grew by 100 percent compared to last year's parliamentary elections, which is proof of our correct policy, but also proof that our members and sympathizers believe in the politics of BS. I thank the citizens of Beran, who gave us great honor and trust, but also a big obligation to fulfill everything we had in the program," he said.
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This, as he stated, is for Berane to be "a city of hope, regardless of the nation, a city that is developing".
"And with BS we will achieve that. Maybe this result is a surprise to some, but it is not, because today BS showed how to conduct correct politics. We were voted for by all nations and all religions in Berane, which encourages me that we are doing a good thing, not only for Berane, but also for Montenegro," said Ibrahimović.
He thanked the holder of the list Denis Adrović, candidates for councilors from their list, as well as party activists.
"This is a strong voice for the Berans, to be the voice of development. Good days are coming for the Berans, a strong BS is coming, and when the BS is strong, it is good not only for Bosniaks, but also for all citizens of Montenegro," stated Ibrahimović.
Mujović: We expect to be invited to talk about the government
The holder of the "Because I love Berane" list, Vesko Mujović, said that he expects to be invited to negotiations about the government, but that he will not agree to "rotten compromises if the parties in power behave towards the Beranes as they have done so far".
"To come before the elections and promise towers and cities..." he stated.
Mujović said that they are very satisfied with that list, and that their result gives "hope for the future of Beran".
"In other words - that Berane played with Real. We have to thank the voters. This brings hope for our Berane... We have a vision, projects and investors for the future of Berane. This wheel has turned and will not stop," he added.
Carrier sheet DPS Miro Nedic, announced that that party showed in Berane that it was "indomitable" and that they did a "good job".
"We are at the level of the parliamentary elections, we expected a few more votes. We performed independently and showed that we are the ones who stand firm," he said.
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He congratulated the list of PES and SNP on their victory.
"This is one of the most difficult places where you can be a member of the DPS. We fought against the entire state apparatus, we have been here for 11 years in the opposition," said Nedić.
In Berane, after the previous local elections, the coalition "For the Future of Berane", the Democrats, the list "Berane Sad", Prava Montenegro and United Montenegro made the majority of 19 councilors, by sending the previously ruling SNP into the opposition.
The political crisis that resulted in extraordinary elections occurred this summer, when the agreed rotation in the post of municipal president between the NSD and the Democrats failed. For that, there was no majority in the ruling coalition, i.e. in the list led by the parties of the former Democratic Front.
Without incidents and irregularities, the turnout is lower than in 2022.
The turnout in yesterday's elections in Berane was 58,40 percent.
In last year's parliamentary elections, the turnout in that municipality was 55,13 percent, and in the previous local elections, 64,02 percent.
Yesterday's election day passed without incident, and no irregularities were registered at the polling stations.
"Ramp" for ND and TV "Vijesti" in the "For the future of Beran" headquarters
Journalists from the Nezavisni dnevnik (ND) and TV "Vijesti" who were in Berane yesterday and covered the elections, were forbidden to enter the headquarters of the "For the Future of Berane" coalition. Officials of that association told journalists that.
After journalist ND "Vijesti" Aljoša Turović called the Deputy Prime Minister and DNP official Milun Zogović and asked him in the premises which party will be the headquarters of the list "For the Future of Berana", he directed him to NSD deputy Jovan Vučurović, who told the journalist that he was "behaving politely" and that they were not cooperating with "Vijesti". After the journalist asked him to just tell him where the headquarters is, he replied with the words: "Why are you asking me that? Should you come? You have nothing to come".
Jelena Božović, the leader of the "For the Future of Beran" coalition list, refused to tell TV "Vijesti" journalist Miljana Dašić, who contacted her, where the headquarters will be located.
"Vijesti" learned, through an intermediary, that the headquarters is in the premises of Prava Montenegro, but they were told that "it is better not to come, so as not to create unnecessary fuss and tension".
The president of Prava, Marko Milačić, did not answer "Vijesti" phone calls.
Democrats lack 17 votes for the fifth term
"Vijesti" has learned unofficially that the Democrats will seek control of election materials.
They need 17 more votes for their fifth mandate.
In case the vote is repeated and the Democrats win that mandate, BS could lose one seat in the local parliament.
Dajković: We lacked 11 votes, others bought them
The leader of Free Montenegro, Vladislav Dajković, announced last night that that party did not deserve 11 votes to pass the census in the elections in Berane.
He said that "today this is not free Montenegro", but "a NATO country, a NATO protectorate".
He also assessed that they fought "alone against everyone".
"We alone against them from the parliamentary majority, the Government, the ministries, armored cars, cars with rotations, with weapons, money, with anything and everything - and we lacked 11 votes. I promise that we will never give up our fight," said Dajković .
SNP has seven mandates, PES six
Out of the 13 mandates won, SNP got seven on the coalition list, and Spajić's party got six.
When it comes to the coalition "For the Future" of Beran, which received eight mandates, four will go to NSD, three to DNP, and one to United.
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