Although some political actors have declared the upcoming elections in Nikšić to be fateful, the campaign so far has not been dominated by identity issues that are occasionally mentioned in passing, but by issues of improving living conditions in that municipality, such as - the construction of apartments and roads, free public transport, the development of green areas, a greater number of cultural and entertainment facilities...
In the elections scheduled for April 13, voters will have the opportunity to vote for one of nine political options, while the leader of the list is "For a Libertarian Nikšić of Equal Opportunities" Jelena Marković announced an appeal to the State Election Commission (SEC), because its request to participate in the election race was rejected because its list lacked 44 signatures of support from citizens.
And while almost all parties/coalitions/citizens' lists contain the name of Nikšić in their names, and while in the statements that have just begun to "get hot" they mainly deal with local topics that are important for the residents of the town under Trebjesa - their headquarters, but also councilors from other municipalities, cannot do without "big", "national", identity topics, giving importance again to the Nikšić elections which, it seems, are crucial for Montenegro this time too - regardless of whether they are a "total offensive" or "front lines" defending what has been won. Even, it seems, the elections in Herceg Novi, which are also scheduled for April 13, are unfairly in the shadow of the Nikšić ones, although, if the citizens ask themselves, they are equally important for them.
The participants in the election process in Nikšić started with “concrete” topics only a few days ago, after the local election commission confirmed their lists. Until then, they used the usual platitudes - which is why they are the best choice for voters, often mentioning identity issues. So far, only the citizens' list “Work for my city” Borislav Đurišić and the coalition of Democrats and Plenum 083 presented their programs and spoke about concrete moves.
In addition to statements highlighting why certain citizens supported them and stories about "captured culture, sports, the good spirit of Nikšić, division", and "a devastated city in economic, demographic and cultural terms", the European Union has offered professional, non-partisan management as a prerequisite for the "revitalization" of local self-government and public enterprises.
Party of European Progress (SEP), former Prime Minister Duško Marković, announced that immediately after the election she would initiate the erection of a monument to the architect To Josip Slade Šilović, the author of the city's first urban plan from 1883, while the Europe Now Movement (PES) of the current Prime Minister Milojko Spajić spoke about the return of young people to Nikšić.
The coalition "For the Future of Nikšić", led by the parties of the former Democratic Front (DF), once again presented the "Sunny City" project - a modern settlement with 1.000 new apartments in the first phase, announced investments and the arrival of new investors, a greater number of cultural and entertainment content...
Civic movement (GP) URA Dritan Abazović announced that it plans to build a recycling center, greening and landscaping of new half a million square meters of green and park areas, building the first sensory park in Montenegro, encouraging renewable energy sources, forming a secretariat for ecology, solving traffic issues by purchasing a large number of new buses and vans, as well as establishing a municipal transport company, increasing the number of lines, introducing a bike sharing system and expanding cycling infrastructure, introducing the so-called smart traffic lights...
The list "Let's wake up Nikšić", led by Dragoljub Dragan Radulovic, offered the reorganization of the municipality according to the EU system, so that it would not depend on the change of government, a higher percentage of investment in capital projects, stimulating the economy with a special emphasis on micro and small businesses, as well as entrepreneurs, support for agriculture through subsidies for new technologies, training and better access to markets, the development of local communities that would be the driving force for the development of the municipality of Nikšić, urban planning of local centers, initiatives to provide extended stay for lower grade students...
At the convention in Banjani and Oputni Rudine, the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) promised the reconstruction of the Maočići-Velimlje-Crni Kuk-Crkvice road, improved water supply in Velimlje, asphalting of rural roads...
The citizens' group "Work for My City" was the first to submit its list, and immediately after it was confirmed, they issued a statement outlining their program. They announced the introduction of a digital platform that would enable easy voting on all important topics, transforming local communities into "true decision-making centers," strengthening the "sense of belonging to the local community" through intensive cultural development, promotion of tradition, organization of sports events, and joint work actions, saying that they would draw inspiration from the experience of "Swiss direct democracy."
The program of the Democrats and Plenum 083 consists of three pillars - caring for people, investments and sustainable development. They promised to implement investments worth more than 100 million euros in four years, apartments at the cost of construction, free public transport for pensioners and people with disabilities, the construction of an autism center, new playgrounds and sports fields, a new building of the Faculty of Philology, new kindergartens, the reconstruction of the Sports Center and the Bedem fortress, a sports and recreational complex and a fitness track under Trebjes, a gallery of contemporary art, a congress hall and stage space in the House of Revolution, the reconstruction of the city park, the landscaping of the area behind King Nikola's Castle, the construction of a Waste Management Center, the House of Agriculture, the reconstruction of the city market...
Other political actors who have yet to present their ideas to the public probably have similar plans. And citizens remain hopeful that these plans, regardless of which political group they belong to, will be realized.
But, there are about twenty days until the elections - enough for the participants to present their programs, offer solutions to local problems, and convince voters that they are the ones who will solve them.
As for the name of the list, in addition to the name Nikšić (only GP URA and the European Union decided not to include the name of the municipality in the name), all of them also listed the names of the bearers (except for the list "Probudimo Nikšić").
There are 57.717 eligible voters in Nikšić, who will vote at 138 polling stations. The next Municipal Assembly will have, like the previous one, 41 councilors.
The lists that citizens will be able to vote for (Jelena Marković's list is still waiting to be confirmed or rejected) are: the citizens' groups "Work for my city - Dr. Borislav Mišo Đurišić" and "Let's wake up Nikšić", then "European Alliance - The best you can! - Ivan Radojičić (SDP, SD, LP and citizens)", "Party of European Progress - Time for Nikšić - Nikola Čvorović", "Hurray - Different! - Dušan Golović", "For the future of Nikšić - Know Nikšić! We continue! - Marko Kovačević", Democrats/Plenum 083 - "We are all Nikšić! - Nemanja Vuković", "Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro - Fight for Nikšić - Boris Muratović" and the Europe Now Movement - "Healthy Nikšić - Dr. Zoran Mrkić".
The current government in the city under Trebjes is made up of coalitions led by the former DF, the Democrats, and the GP URA.
Milo Kleo Democrat
"Fuel to the fire" on the story of the Nikšić elections was recently added by the honorary president of the DPS, Milo Đukanović, who said at a forum in the vicinity of Nikšić that the two leading figures of the Democrats were not present at the handover of the ballot papers, due to a mutual conflict, with the message: "May they gouge each other's eyes out, as far as I'm concerned."
Nemanja Vuković, the leader of the Democrats' list of I Plenum 083, responded: "How much more will the honorary leader of the list curse us after we defeat him once again on April 13th."
After Đukanović's statement, passions flared up again and blood cell counts began again, the "partisans" and "Chetniks" began to lead the way again, Srpska prisoners and fugitive politicians were once again the talk of the town, pending verdicts and empty threats, old/new glory and despair...
The leaders of the list, after "speechless" the answers, returned the "story" to the local track. The government listed everything they had done, reminded what their predecessors had not done, promised new investments, an even brighter future, the opposition criticized them for what they had not done, what and how they could have done it better, and how much betterment the new change of government would bring to citizens.
The civic lists, in keeping with their names, tried to draw attention to the fact that there are no empty promises, "because 'Working for my city' is the most important thing," and that it is therefore necessary to "wake up" Nikšić.
DPS embraces Cyrillic script, DF embraces state flag
The course of the campaign for the Nikšić elections so far has been marked by the fact that the DPS has produced promotional posters in two scripts - Latin and Cyrillic, which was not the practice in their previous campaigns.
Another curiosity is that supporters of the former DF, when submitting the list of the coalition “For the Future of Nikšić”, carried the national flag, along with the tricolor. Some officials of that alliance said that it could be changed “when the time comes”.
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