At today's meeting, members of the Committee for Comprehensive Electoral Reform will consider the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on the Election of Councilors and Representatives, which stipulates that all local elections will be held in 2027.
The precise date for the elections could be agreed upon early this week.
A source for "Vijesti" from the office of the President of Montenegro said that the draft law, which should soon be before MPs, envisages extending the mandate of municipal assemblies whose mandate expires before 2027, with an additional ban on holding all local elections, regardless of the political situation on the ground.
"This is about the removal of citizens' Constitutional right to local self-government and the de facto suspension of voting rights until 2027," says a source from the Office of the President of Montenegro.
The newspaper's source states that in some municipalities, such as Mojkovac, Cetinje, Petnjica and Ulcinj, such a solution means extending the mandate of local assemblies by 12 to 18 months, without the will of the voters and without elections.
"Moreover, even if a loss of majority or a crisis of government occurs in the meantime, such as the one likely in Žabljak, citizens are prevented from going to the polls and electing a new local government."
The draft version of the document, which the newspaper had access to, states that "general local elections" will be held in 2027. This means that it is necessary to "postpone" all local elections that should be held before 2027, or to extend the mandates of the authorities in those local governments.
By the end of the year, people should go to the polls in Cetinje, Mojkovac and Petnjica, and next year in Tivat, Plužine, Žabljak, Bijelo Polje, Šavnik, Bar, Danilovgrad, Kolašin, Pljevlja, Zeta, Plav and Rožaje.
A source from the president's office told the newspaper that such solutions "do not protect the public interest, but the political interests of the parties."
The interlocutor states that he is also concerned by the fact that all parliamentary groups, both the government and the opposition, have given their consent to this, as he believes, illegal solution, which "makes it even clearer that this is a political agreement that puts party interests above the Constitution."
"For municipal assembly members (MA) whose mandate in accordance with the Law on the Election of Councilors and Representatives expires before 2027, the duration of their mandate shall be extended until the day of confirmation of the mandate of the councilors elected at the first general local elections. For municipal assembly members whose mandate in accordance with the Law would continue after 2027, the mandate shall expire on the day of confirmation of the mandate of the councilors elected at the first general local elections," the draft version of the law states.
The newspaper's interlocutor said that this model creates a dangerous precedent.
"If local elections can now be postponed until 2027, why not postpone them to 2029 next year? Is this also a preparation for postponing parliamentary elections, if that suits the political elites? Parliamentary parties can do this indefinitely, they can even cancel elections in this way if it suits them. The foundation of democracy is elections, so the question arises how the suspension and postponement of elections can be in the public interest?" said a source from the Cabinet.
The correct and constitutional path, he states, would be for all individual local elections to be held within the legal deadlines, and for everyone's mandates to be legally shortened when the first general local elections are called, in order to introduce a single term without violating the Constitution.
The newspaper's source emphasized that it is necessary for the Committee for Comprehensive Electoral Reform to send the draft law to the Venice Commission, in order to obtain an expert opinion on the constitutionality and proportionality of the proposed measures.
"The reform is not based on ignoring the law, suspending elections, and trampling on the Constitution. Citizens have the right to choose, and no one, not even parliamentary parties in agreement, has the right to take away or suspend our right to choose," said the newspaper's source.
They will also consider a raise for the regular work of the parties.
Today, the Committee members will also consider the Draft Law on Financing Political Entities and Election Campaigns, which proposes an increase in budget allocations for the regular work of parliamentary parties - 0,8 percent, instead of the previous 0,5 percent of the current budget.
It was also proposed that a natural person may pay a maximum of 10.000 euros, and a legal maximum of 40.000 euros annually, for the regular work and financing of election campaigns of a political entity. According to the current law, a natural person may pay a maximum of 5.000 euros, and a legal maximum of 20.000 euros.
Among other things, a ban on the use of premises of state and local government bodies, public institutions and enterprises owned by the state or municipality for the purpose of election campaigns has been proposed.
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