Dukaj: There is a danger that assemblies that lack legitimacy will elect the presidents of the municipalities of Šavnik and Kotor

Minister of Public Administration Maraš Dukaj announced that there is a danger that assemblies that lack electoral legitimacy will elect the presidents of the municipalities of Šavnik and Kotor.

He said that the aforementioned situation causes serious legal and political consequences, which, he emphasizes, are reflected in the lack of electoral legitimacy, the meaninglessness of democratic processes, and the limitation of citizens' rights to local self-government.

Today, as announced by the department he heads, Dukaj sent information to the Prime Minister Milojko Spajić and the Speaker of Parliament about the need to urgently resolve problems in the local self-government system, with a focus on the challenges in the municipalities of Šavnik and Kotor.

"We remind you that the election process in the municipality of Šavnik has not been completed since 2023, and in the municipality of Kotor since September 2024. The assemblies of the aforementioned municipalities operate outside the established four-year mandate, with the mandate of the mayor of Kotor ending, and that of the mayor of Šavnik ending on February 18, 2025," the statement reads.

It is added that in this regard, it was pointed out that the responsibility for systematically addressing the challenges in these municipalities lies with the Assembly and the competent committee.

"...Whereas Minister Dukaj, with an appeal, expressed hope and expectation from the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Parliament that resolving the aforementioned challenges would be prioritized and actualized, without politicization - in order to ensure that citizens exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights," the statement said.

"Especially because the Ministry of Public Administration has exhausted all legal possibilities to influence and act on the aforementioned negative phenomena, and the Parliamentary Committee for Comprehensive Electoral Reform has assumed the obligation to resolve the crisis in the municipality of Šavnik. The Ministry of Public Administration remains committed to implementing reforms," ​​the MPA said.