"Even Popović couldn't ask the Prime Minister questions when he was away"

The Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Montenegro stipulate that MPs who have been suspended from parliament cannot ask questions at the next session dedicated to the Prime Minister's Hour, "Vijesti" was told unofficially by the office of Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandić.

An interlocutor from Mandić's cabinet said that they were reminded of the case when the same measure was imposed on MP Andrija Popović in the previous convocation at the First Special Session of the First Regular Session in 2021, and that Popović did not have the right to ask questions at the next session dedicated to parliamentary questions.

The same interlocutor pointed to a part of Article 109 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly:

"A deputy who has been ordered to take the floor does not have the right to ask a parliamentary question at the first subsequent session dedicated to a parliamentary question."

On February 3, Mandić imposed a 15-day suspension on opposition MPs.

Opposition MPs were then prohibited from attending sessions for 15 days, except when voting.

When imposing the measure of expulsion of opposition MPs, the Speaker of Parliament Andrija Mandić referred to Article 109 of the Rules of Procedure, but the explanation of the decision does not state that the MPs were imposed with the measure of deprivation of the floor, but only with expulsion from the session.

"Because of all the above, with a heavy heart, in accordance with Articles 109 and 110a of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Montenegro, due to the disruption of order at the Session of the Parliament of Montenegro on 21 January 2025 and the continuous blockade of the work of the legislative chamber, I pronounce upon you the measure of removal from the session, which shall apply for the next 15 days of the session (work) of the Parliament from the date of pronouncement of this measure. In the hope that we will soon continue to work together for the good of all citizens of Montenegro and progress on our European path, I warmly greet you," Mandić stated at the time.

Of the opposition MPs, the measure was not issued to Boris Mugoša from the Social Democrats (SD), Drita Lola, Nikola Janović, Nikola Milović and Nikola Rakočević from the DPS, nor to independent MPs Jevrosima Pejović and Radinka Ćinćur.

On the social network Iks, a discussion took place today between Europe Now Movement (PES) MP Miodrag Laković and opposition MPs Aleksandra Vuković Kuč (Democratic Party of Socialists - DPS) and Boris Mugoša (Social Democrats - SD) regarding the fact that MPs who have been ordered to stay away are not allowed to ask questions during the Prime Minister's Hour.

The head of the DPS parliamentary group in the Parliament of Montenegro, Andrija Nikolić, announced last night that the cowardly and undemocratic parliamentary majority had decided to deny the right to ask parliamentary questions to MPs who were suspended.

The President of the SD MP Club in the Parliament of Montenegro, Boris Mugoša, said today that the coalition's homogenized armchair, or parliamentary majority, through mutual blackmail and bargaining, has decided, once again violating the Rules of Procedure, to deprive opposition MPs who have been suspended from their posts of the right to ask parliamentary questions at the session scheduled for Wednesday.

SD MP and representative of the European Union, Nikola Zirojević, announced today that the parliamentary majority is cowardly not allowing opposition MPs to ask questions to ministers ahead of the elections in Nikšić.

The Prime Minister's Hour, where Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, who is also the leader of PES, will answer questions from MPs, will be held on March 26, two days earlier than originally announced.