Part of the opposition could leave the parliamentary Electoral Reform Committee if a proposal by several ruling majority parties to amend the Law on the Voters' Register is included in today's parliamentary session's agenda and if those solutions are then voted on, which the ruling parties claim could result in the end of the elections in Šavnik, which have been going on for over two and a half years - "Vijesti" has learned unofficially.
A newspaper source from an opposition party said that the part of the parliamentary majority that proposed the changes is violating the decision to form the Electoral Reform Committee, which (Article 4) stipulates that this working body, among other things, will define a draft regulation on the voter register.
"There is no uncertainty about what we would do (if the proposal is included in the agenda and voted on)... What happens if some parties decide to propose a law that falls under the Committee's jurisdiction themselves?", the interlocutor stated, adding that the future of the Committee depends on the strongest ruling party, the Europe Now Movement (PES), which has not signed either the proposed amendments or the proposal for them to be on the agenda today, and without whose support the rest of the government cannot adopt the regulation.
A source for "Vijesti" said that he believes that one of two motives lies behind the reopening of the story about amending the regulations on the voter register, after a little over a year.
"Either part of the government is trying to stop the electoral reform that is being conducted under the auspices of the EU (European Union) and which includes elections on one day, or these parties have a problem with their voters in Šavnik," the interlocutor assessed, adding that he hopes that this is a political calculation and that the proposal will not even be discussed today.
The Šavnik opposition, which is made up of a part of the state government's constituents, has been blocking the Šavnik-Žabljak road for three months in protest against the re-election of Jugoslav Jakić (Democratic Party of Socialists - DPS) as mayor and the fact that the elections in that town have not yet been completed.
The bill to amend the Law on the Voters' Register was submitted to the legislative chamber ten days ago (19 May) by the deputies of the Democrats, New Serbian Democracy (NSD), Democratic People's Party (DNP) and Socialist People's Party (SNP). It stipulates that "election tourists" from Šavnik, who deregistered their residence in that municipality after the elections that began in October 2022 and have not yet concluded, will not be able to participate in a possible repeat vote at two polling stations, regardless of whether they are on the voter's register.
The proposal should be on the agenda of today's session, requested the day before yesterday (through a proposal for amendment) by MPs Momčilo Leković (Democrats), Dragan Bojović (DNP), Marko Kovačević (NSD) and Bogdan Božović (DNP).
The same legal solution was submitted by Democratic MPs in late 2023, but they withdrew it from the procedure in early March 2024 after some opposition parties (one of which is now the ruling party) objected, stating that the proposal was submitted without dialogue with them, and with the intention of the parliamentary majority "to destroy the agreement on the principles on which the Committee was formed."
The solution is controversial from many angles
Interlocutors of "Vijesti" from the legal profession assess that the new/old proposal is controversial from the aspect of constitutionality and legal certainty, and that it is contrary to international election standards.
Lawyer Veselin Radulović told the newspaper that they are trying to "score" some political points with the proposal, stating that the proposed solution is debatable in terms of compliance with the highest legal act of the state. According to him, the problem of the elections in Šavnik should be resolved by having the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP), led by the Democrats, do "what is in their job description."
"Which would implement its jurisdiction, conduct administrative procedures, and check whether a person actually has a residence in a municipality or whether it was only fictitiously registered in order to exercise that voting right. Of course, and make decisions accordingly," said Radulović.
The Ministry of Interior announced in early May that the number of people registered on the voter list in Šavnik ahead of the 2022 elections had increased by 371, and that after the election process was not completed, 236 of them returned "to their previous municipalities of residence."
The executive director of the Center for Civil Liberties (CEGAS), Marija Popović Kalezić, told the newspaper that the proposal by some authorities is a kind of "instant solution" and an "unnecessary burden" on the legal text.
"The issue of not holding elections in Šavnik has grown into a state problem of the first order. Instead of a detailed analysis of the work of state bodies, the state of records and normative uncertainties, they are resorting to proposing a normative shortcut that is likely in the zone of violating constitutionally guaranteed rights," she assessed for "Vijesti".
A lawyer familiar with the field of electoral legislation told the newspaper that it is questionable that the offered solution is being tried to "sneak" past the Committee, which, according to him, must be a platform for resolving this, as well as other issues related to elections.
"Bypassing that body, the opposition can once again be given a basis to abandon it and block electoral reform again," he claims.
The Committee did not work from the beginning of April until the end of June last year, because part of the opposition had conditioned the continuation of the functioning of this body on the withdrawal of the decision to introduce compulsory administration in Šavnik. After the government implemented this opposition condition, the Committee continued its work. This parliamentary body had been blocked several times in previous years due to disagreements between the government and the opposition...
The interlocutor of "Vijesti" stated that the constitutionality of the offered solution can be discussed, but that it is obvious that it is "contrary to the constitutional principle of legal certainty and electoral standards."
"International standards in the field of electoral legislation strongly oppose amending electoral legislation immediately before elections. If we apply this principle to the situation in question, it is clear that amending legislation cannot be carried out even during elections, while the elections in Šavnik are still formally and legally ongoing," he explained.
That those with "real" residence should vote
According to the proposal of the majority, the re-election procedure at polling stations where the election results were annulled will be regulated by the new Article 20a of the law, according to which only voters registered in the extract from the closed voter list for that polling station may vote in the re-election.
"The exception is voters who, from the day the voter list was closed until the day the repeat elections were held, deregistered their residence in the municipality where the council elections are being held, or the competent state administration body issued a final decision on deregistering their residence in that municipality," the proposed amendments state.
It is also stated that in the event that voters deregister their residence in the municipality where local elections are held, the competent state administration body shall submit a list of such persons to the polling station committee for that polling station no later than 24 hours before the day of the repeat elections.
The elections in Šavnik began on October 23, 2022, when they were held in 13 more municipalities, but have not yet ended 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 of the newly registered voters to vote, because, they claim, they were copied to support the DPS.
At two polling stations, in the Municipality building and in the village of Kruševica, where 541 voters have the right to vote, voting was held on nine occasions, the last time on December 18, 2022, when the elections were interrupted again, after which the Municipal Election Commission (MEC) there could not arrangements to repeat them.
So far, dozens of people have been prosecuted before judicial authorities for events related to the elections in Šavnik, which included numerous incidents, including physical clashes.
Muk PES-a
When asked by "Vijesti" whether they would support the proposed amendments to the Law on the Voters' Register and whether they believe it is a good legal solution, the ruling PES and Bosniak Party (BS), as well as the opposition Social Democrats (SD) and GP URA, did not respond yesterday. The proposal requires the votes of 41 MPs to pass in parliament.
The head of the SNP parliamentary group, Bogdan Božović, told "Vijesti" that they signed a letter of support for the proposal and that they would vote for it because they believe "it is a good legal solution that will enable the unblocking, i.e. the final completion of the electoral process."
The DPS in Šavnik announced yesterday that the Democrats are aware that they do not have support "even for a new election round in Šavnik", and that they have no choice but to, as they say, "panickily propose laws that would allow them to eliminate political opponents, not on the ground, but on paper".
"It is particularly hypocritical that right now, when both the profession and the majority of political actors have agreed that the elections should be held in one day, the Democrats are once again derailing, not with the goal of a stable Šavnik, but with the goal of destabilizing Montenegro...", assesses the local DPS committee.
They state that the voter list was compiled in accordance with the law and that all citizens have the right to vote, without exception.
"Selective 'cleansing' is a dangerous path to discrimination and political persecution, not problem-solving. Such changes to the law are a transparent attempt to replace the will of the people with party interests," they add.
The DPS says that the Ministry of Interior has already begun institutional processes to improve the legislative framework, and that the party has made "its full contribution to ensuring that the elections in Šavnik finally end, in a legal, clear and peaceful manner."
"There are no 'surplus' voters in Šavnik. There are only those who do not know how to accept the will of the people," they concluded.
Ministry of Interior: 1.246 citizens in Šavnik have an incomplete address registered
The Ministry of Internal Affairs announced yesterday that 241,2 thousand citizens in Montenegro have an incomplete address registered, which is registered without a house or apartment number, which significantly complicates the accuracy and reliability of the voter register.
They said that the working group for the control of the voter register conducted an analysis of data regarding the accuracy of the addresses of people registered on the voter register.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that the largest number of people with a registered address without a house or apartment number was recorded in Podgorica, where 30.178 citizens have an incomplete address. The fewest such cases were in Šavnik - 1.246.
Radulović: Take reform seriously, don't propose partial solutions
Veselin Radulović said that the state would not have had problems in Šavnik, and the same or similar ones in other municipalities, if the Ministry of Interior had done its job and implemented the law.
He stated that the issue of the voter register is an issue of electoral legislation reform, which, according to him, should be approached seriously, and not in this way, "by proposing some partial solutions that will try to put out individual fires or resolve individual issues."
"This is something that parties, primarily those in power, but also the opposition - because a two-thirds majority is required to adopt these laws - should seriously address, but they obviously do not want to do so," Radulović concluded.
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