The President of the State, Jakov Milatović, sent to the Assembly the Initiative for the Reform of the Electoral System through the Introduction of Open Electoral Lists.
He assessed that the need for this reform stems from the "expressed feeling of citizens' dissatisfaction" with the current state of the political system, which is characterized by limited opportunities for voters to directly influence the choice of their representatives.
"By introducing open lists, Montenegro would join numerous European countries that have successfully implemented similar systems, ensuring greater participation of citizens in decision-making and democratization of political processes. The introduction of a system of open electoral lists would mean more than a technical change in the electoral process – it would be a reform that would enable the voice of every citizen to be heard and valued. This change would bring greater transparency to the political process, enable direct influence of citizens on the choice of representatives and ensure the compliance of the electoral system with modern democratic standards," announced Milatović.
The initiative indicated that the existing proportional system with closed lists gives political parties complete control over the order of candidates on the list.
"Citizens can vote exclusively for a political list, while the decision on who will receive mandates remains exclusively in the hands of party leaders, who actually have a greater right to vote than the voters themselves, because they decide which candidates will be appointed to temporary positions and thus get a seat in parliament . Voters practically do not have the opportunity to choose their own representatives, but instead vote for a political list defined in advance by party leaders. Such a system creates favorable conditions for the election of representatives that do not reflect the true choice of citizens. As a result, candidates are often elected who are not known to the general public, who are not recognized as key actors in the community, or whose work and contribution to the political process remains unclear or invisible. "Such passivity affects the reduction of the quality of personnel within the parties, and thus the weakening of the ratings of the parties, because citizens increasingly express dissatisfaction through political abstinence and distancing themselves from political processes," the initiative reads.
It is further stated that the current system not only reduces the quality of representatives and their work, but also undermines fundamental democratic values. Reform of the electoral system is therefore considered crucial, in order to increase the responsibility of representatives towards citizens, improve the quality of political candidates, encourage internal party democracy and restore trust in political institutions and processes.
"Article 2 of the Constitution of Montenegro clearly defines that the citizen, as the bearer of sovereignty, exercises power directly and through elected representatives, and Article 45 that voters have the right to directly elect deputies and councilors, and to be elected as councilors and deputies. In addition, the Law on the Election of Councilors and Members of Parliament, in Article 2, stipulates that citizens elect councilors and members of parliament and have the right to be elected councilors and members of parliament on the basis of general and equal suffrage, in free and direct elections. However, the immediacy guaranteed by the Constitution is not realized in practice. Specifically, the Law on the Election of Councilors and Members of Parliament, in Article 82, stipulates that citizens vote for the electoral list, and the party leadership actually decides which candidate from the list will receive the mandate, that is, the party leaders decide who will be the elected representative of the citizens. In this way, citizens cannot exercise their right to vote guaranteed by the Constitution - to directly vote and be elected. The only occasion in which the immediacy of elections guaranteed by the constitution is realized is during the election of the President of Montenegro. It is necessary to harmonize the Law on the Election of Councilors and Members of Parliament with the Constitution of Montenegro," the document reads.
Milatović, in relation to all the above, said that it would be of particular importance for Montenegro to introduce open lists that allow the possibility of ranking all candidates within the list entirely based on the number of preferential votes, i.e. model that allows voters to influence the composition of the electoral list as a whole.
"This kind of system has great advantages, among other things, it also leads to greater political responsibility. All proposed candidates would be directly responsible to the citizens because their potential success would depend solely on the support of the voters and not on the will of the party leaders. Citizens would feel more involved because they would have a direct influence on the choice of representatives, and the political parties themselves would be encouraged to nominate the best individuals, which would improve the quality of personnel within each party. I am sure that the reform of the electoral system through the introduction of open lists will contribute to the strengthening of democratic values, political responsibility and citizens' trust in the institutions of Montenegro. This change would not only be technical, but also essential - a symbol of Montenegro's commitment to strengthening the democratic order and bringing it closer to the best European standards," said Milatović.
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