Neither under the highest legal act nor under the Law on the Constitutional Court, the Constitutional Court is competent to initiate proceedings itself to decide on electoral disputes, but can only do so if an appeal is filed by a voter who believes that his or her right to vote has been violated, a candidate for MP and councilor, as well as the submitter of an electoral list.
This was announced to "Vijesti" by the Constitutional Court, in response to the question - whether the conditions have been met for that institution to possibly react ex officio after the Šavnica parliament, which was constituted almost seven years ago, was re-elected yesterday. Jugoslav Jakić for the first man of that municipality.
"Regarding your inquiry, we inform you that the Constitutional Court, neither under the Constitution of Montenegro nor under the Law on the Constitutional Court of Montenegro, has the jurisdiction to initiate proceedings on its own to decide on election disputes," the newspaper was told.
Jakić, whose term expired the day before yesterday, was elected in an electronic session, held via the Zoom application, by the votes of councilors from his Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and Social Democrats (SD). One councilor from the Democrats did not participate in the vote.
The mandate of the current Šavnica parliament began at the end of June 2018, but has not ended after four years, but is still ongoing because local elections in that municipality have not been completed since autumn 2022.
The Constitutional Court responded to "Vijesti" that this institution is competent to initiate proceedings only for the assessment of the compliance of laws with the Constitution and ratified and published international treaties, or other regulations and general acts with the highest legal act and law, "which is explicitly prescribed by the provisions of Article 150, paragraph 2 of the Constitution and Article 55 of the Law on the Constitutional Court."
They explain that the procedure for deciding on electoral disputes can be initiated exclusively by filing a complaint by a voter who believes that his or her right to vote has been violated, a candidate for MP and councilor, and the submitter of an electoral list, as prescribed by Article 98, paragraph 1 of the Law on the Constitutional Court.
"The procedure for deciding on a violation of rights during the election of deputies and councilors is initiated by filing an appeal against a decision of the competent election commission rejecting or rejecting an objection against a decision, action or omission in accordance with the provisions of Article 97, paragraph 1 of the Law on the Constitutional Court. In addition, Article 110, paragraph 2 of the Law on the Election of Councilors and Representatives stipulates that an appeal may be filed with the Constitutional Court against a decision of the State Election Commission rejecting or rejecting an objection," they state.
FOR JAKIĆ, EVERYTHING IS CLEAR
The fact that he was voted in by the councilors of the "old" parliament is not controversial to Jakić because, as he told reporters after the re-election, "by law, the mandate of councilors lasts until new ones are elected."
"The public has been given the impression that the mandate of the councilors is not legitimate, primarily due to irresponsible and frivolous statements made by officials from the Ministry of Public Administration, which should not have been made. The President of the Municipal Assembly also emphasized in a statement that we cannot interpret the law as we see fit, from situation to situation, from city to city, from circumstance to circumstance," he said.
According to the Law on Local Self-Government (Article 37), the mandate of the assemblies at that level lasts four years, and the mayor is elected (Article 56) no later than 30 days after their constitution, or (Article 66) no later than 30 days after the end of the mandate of the (previous) mayor. At the same time, the Law on the Election of Councilors and Representatives (Article 5) stipulates that the mandate of these citizens' representatives lasts four years, but that their mandate (Article 14) ends on the day the mandate of the representatives in the new convocation of local parliaments is confirmed.
Jakić states that the same convocation of the Šavnica parliament also made much more important decisions than his election, such as adopting the budget.
"The most important decisions in a municipality... And many of those who are commenting today have not said anything about this issue. And through this we see that they only care about the position of a certain authority, and not essentially what is in the interest of the citizens. It is completely clear that there is no sensation here and that the election of the Mayor of the Municipality is the only possible decision so that the city does not come to a standstill and so that the interests of the citizens of Šavnik can be realized," he said.
State Secretary at the Ministry of Public Administration (MPA) Dragisa Janjušević, stated yesterday that he views Jakić's election as a "brutal violation of the local self-government system and the Constitution", but also of the legislative order that treats this matter.
He claims that the ministry has done everything it can.
"We initiated and proposed to the Government measures to introduce a board of trustees in the Municipality of Šavnik, in order to begin to resolve this situation that has been going on for far too long. However, we did not receive adequate reactions, primarily from the President of Montenegro, who did not call elections, and on the other hand, a chance was given to the political dialogue that was supposed to resolve the Šavnik problem through the Committee for Comprehensive Electoral Reform. That did not happen and we have the situation we have today...", Janjušević told Radio Montenegro.
The Zoom session also noted the termination of the mandate of the Vice President of the Municipality. Dušan Radanović, and was elected vice president Milijana Asanin.
Opposition councilors, who do not participate in Zoom sessions, because sessions in Šavnik have only been held that way for two years, say that neither Jakić nor the parliamentary convocation have legitimacy, but "it seems that neither does the state, which still, even after almost three years, has failed to resolve the Šavnik electoral crisis."
Councilor of New Serbian Democracy Snezana Cupic She assessed that Jakić's election was an "unprecedented act of legal violence."
The elections in Šavnik began on October 23, 2022, when they were held in 13 more municipalities, but were not completed because members of the polling stations from the opposition coalition "For the Future of Šavnik", led by the former Democratic Front, did not allow some newly registered voters to vote because, they claim, they were copied to support the DPS.
Cerović announces blockade of Nikšić - Šavnik - Žabljak road
Leader of the coalition list "For the Future of Šavnik" Gavrilo Cerović, told "Vijesti" that the councilors who shortened their mandates in March last year were "resurrected" and made illegal decisions, such as adopting the budget and electing the president of the Municipality of Šavnik.
"The Mayor 'resurrected' the councilors in July last year and re-elected them, and I guess by law they elect him, not him electing them," said Cerović.
He stated that the state government, both legislative and executive, through their silence and inaction "are approving lawlessness in Šavnik", and that the state budget, which was recently adopted, "best showed what they think about that municipality".
"There is zero euros in the capital budget for the most underdeveloped municipality. With this, they have shown their attitude towards Šavnik, but also the north of Montenegro. These days we will probably block the Nikšić - Šavnik - Žabljak road for a longer period of time. When they don't need Šavnik, let them go another way," he said.
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