Local governments often assume powers that do not belong to them and do not solve the "real" problems of citizens, but rather serve as instruments of political promotion, with which they would strengthen their position among citizens.
Thus, the interlocutors of "Vijesti" answer questions about why such moves are being made or considered at the local level and whether they are undermining the legal order of the state.
The most recent example is the announcement of the first man of Ulcinj Gentry of Nimanbegu (Forca), that there is a possibility that the parliament there will declare the prime minister persona non grata Milojko Spajić (Europe Now Movement) and the Minister of Public Works Majda Adzovic.
Spajić is a signatory, and Adžović is one of the most vocal promoters of the agreement between the governments of Montenegro and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which envisages “the largest investment in the history of the country.” The Prime Minister presented the Arab billionaire’s intention to the leaders of Ulcinj and local parties there. Mohamed Alabara to allegedly invest 35 billion euros in the construction of a tourist complex in that municipality and to lease the entire Ulcinj Velika Plaza for 99 years.
"Maybe we'll propose an initiative to the (municipal) Assembly to declare them persona non grata. Maybe we'll propose Spajić as well. I don't know if we can do that legally. I really don't know how to deal with these people anymore...", said Nimanbegu at the end of last week, while appearing on A plus television.
Lawyer and Executive Director of the Center for Civil Liberties (CEGAS) Marija Popović Kalezić, she told "Vijesti", commenting on Nimanbegu's message, that it is easier for local governments to deal with "high politics" than to regulate the issue of citizen participation in decision-making.
"Local governments, in this specific case, are being abused for political, party purposes, with an emphasis on the need to affirm ethnocentrism," she claims.
Lawyer and Director of Action for Social Justice (ASP) Ines Mrdovic, assessed that such moves are mostly part of daily politics and an attempt to create the illusion that local officials are "holding the strings" and controlling processes that predominantly concern the population in their local communities, even in situations where the development of events is not in their power.
"Sometimes it is an attempt to 'appease' the local population in relation to topics that local officials consider profitable for narrow party interests," she told "Vijesti".
Mrdović said that in this way, local officials clearly hope to strengthen their positions with citizens, although, on the other hand, they are very aware that the initiatives they propose often not only lack legal basis, but are at the very least a "blow" for short-term use.
The Ministry of Public Administration (MPA) did not respond to questions from "Vijesti" yesterday about how they interpret the fact that some local governments have concluded that some people are not welcome in their cities, while others are announcing that they could do something similar, whether they have the authority to do so, and whether they are thus undermining the legal order.
Nimanbegu also did not answer questions about whether he believes that the Ulcinj Municipal Assembly has (and if so, under what regulation) the authority to declare the Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Works undesirable, as well as whether he thinks that such a possible move by the Ulcinj parliament would represent a form of undermining the state order.
MORE CASES OF “ARMANSHIP” AT THE LOCAL
There was no shortage of examples of local assemblies taking actions that were not within their jurisdiction. The capital's parliament, for example, concluded at the end of last year that the head of the state legislative chamber Andrija Mandic (New Serbian Democracy - NSD) is not welcome in Cetinje until it publicly apologizes to the citizens there for "statements and positions that insult their dignity, reputation and honor."
The capital's assembly reached a conclusion regarding Mandić after an initiative by the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), which demanded that the head of the state parliament be declared persona non grata. However, the DPS initiative was not included in the agenda (because it was assessed that the local parliament did not have the authority to do so) and it was decided that Mandić was not welcome.
Among the more striking examples of the "arbitrariness" of local governments is the case of the unsuccessful attempts of the Zeta assembly to annul the government's decision to recognize Kosovo in 2023 for the territory of that municipality, even though it has no jurisdiction to do so.
Making a decision on this would have no formal or legal significance, because such a decision can only be made by the Government, which conducts the internal and foreign policy of the state. The leaders of the youngest Montenegrin municipality were aware of this, but they said they wanted to send a message that "the people do not think like the Government."
An example worth mentioning is the decision of the first man of Pljevlja Daria Vraneš (NSD), to organize a ceremony in that municipality in early February 2024 to mark the Statehood Day of the neighboring country, Serbia. He organized the ceremony to mark the Statehood Day of Serbia even though, according to some lawyers, Montenegrin municipalities should not schedule celebrations of other countries' holidays, even though they are the holidays of some national communities, because this is against the law.
Vraneš then justified the move by saying that he did not understand why anyone would be irritated by the academy “on the occasion of a national uprising of our ancestors”, and that criticizing the ceremony was akin to condemning “the academy for Victory Day over Fascism”. Marija Popović Kalezić believes that it would be important for local governments to start by managing to create functional local communities, and then to provide citizens with the opportunity to make decisions through a citizens’ assembly, initiative, citizens’ initiative and referendum (local and municipal). She said that the right to civic participation and the European Charter on Local Self-Government were being violated, “where decentralization loses its meaning, instead of being constantly affirmed”.
"By strengthening the civic concept and consolidation, guaranteed rights are also strengthened and we are closer to the EU. On what basis do we advocate the thesis that citizens want something or not, if they have not been asked through legal institutes that have long existed in the Law on Local Self-Government?" she stated.
Ines Mrdović said that it should not be ignored that the majority of municipalities are financially unsustainable and that their regular functioning directly depends on the Equalization Fund, adding that "we don't even need to waste words" on the dependence of capital investments on the central treasury.
"Well, surely local officials are taking this into account and don't dare to fully confront the state authorities," she concluded.
Mrdović: A referendum is better than declaring people undesirable
Mrdović stated that it would be more important for local officials to take "more legally meaningful initiatives" to protect the interests of citizens.
"For example, instead of proposing that the Prime Minister and the Minister be declared persona non grata in Ulcinj due to controversial contracts with the UAE, the local leadership could consider the possibility of conducting a local referendum, with clearly focused questions for citizens, so that the majority opinion of citizens could be a quality 'legal barrier' for the issue of future investments and protection of local interests, instead of what we are currently witnessing on the public stage," the interviewee claims.
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