They are abolishing the State Election Commission, forming a Central Election Commission: They promise that there will be no parties

The draft amendments to the Law on the Election of Councilors and Representatives, which should be considered by the Electoral Reform Committee today, envisages the formation of a Central Election Commission (CEC), whose members, who will not be able to be in parties, would be elected by parliament after a public competition.

According to the draft, which "Vijesti" had access to, the CEC should replace the existing State Election Commission (SEC), and would have a president and four members.

"The President and members of the Central Election Commission are elected by the Parliament, upon the proposal of the working body of the Parliament responsible for elections and appointments, after a public competition," the document states.

As explained, the CEC will take over the tasks, funds, obligations, documentation and employees of the SEC's professional service.

"Employees from the previous paragraph who are not assigned in accordance with the act on internal organization and systematization of the State Election Commission shall exercise the rights and obligations of an employee whose work is no longer needed, in accordance with the law governing the rights, obligations and responsibilities of civil servants and state employees," it was stated.

The SEC, according to the Law on the Election of Councilors and Deputies, has a president and ten members. The head of the SEC is elected by the Parliament after a competition, while the members are representatives of parliamentary parties (four from the government and opposition and one representative of minority parties), while one member is a representative of the non-governmental sector and the university, who is elected by the Parliament based on a competition.

CEC may take over the jurisdiction of MEC

The CEC will be elected for a period of six years, and according to the draft, it will call local elections (regular and special), which has so far been the responsibility of the president.

The document stipulates that all local elections (on one day) will be held in 2027, and the precise date should be determined by the Electoral Reform Committee. This means that it is necessary to postpone all local elections that should be held before 2027, or to extend the mandate of the authorities in those local governments.

By the end of this year, elections should be held in Cetinje, Mojkovac and Petnjica, and next year in Žabljak, Tivat, Plužine, Bijelo Polje, Šavnik, Bar, Danilovgrad, Kolašin, Pljevlja, Zeta, Plav and Rožaje.

Another novelty in the draft is that "in the event that the Municipal Election Commission fails to perform its duties, the Central Election Commission will assume the jurisdiction of the Municipal Election Commission (MEC)."

The SEC does not have this authority. Part of the public has called on this institution to take over the powers of the MEC, in order to prevent blockages in the completion of local election processes. Specifically - the elections in Šavnik, which began on October 23, 2022, but have not yet been completed because the members of the MEC there cannot make a decision on their repetition at two polling stations.

It was also proposed that the competent parliamentary committee initiate the procedure for electing the CEC within 60 days of the entry into force of the amendments to the law.

"The mandate of the President and members of the State Election Commission elected in accordance with the Law on the Election of Councilors and Representatives shall last until the election of the Central Election Commission," the draft states.

Members must be lawyers with experience

According to the document, which "Vijesti" had access to, the president and members of the CEC must, among other things, have at least a VII1 level of education qualification in the field of legal sciences, at least ten years of work experience in the profession, of which at least five years of experience in the field of elections, electoral and political systems, judiciary and human rights protection.

A person who has held or is holding the office of a member of parliament or councilor, president or vice-president of a municipality, mayor or deputy mayor of the Capital or the Royal Capital, or was a member of the Government of Montenegro in the last five years cannot be elected as the president or member of the CEC. Also, a president or member of the CEC cannot be a member or official of a party, or have been convicted by a final judgment of a crime against official duty, corruption, fraud, theft, etc.

The competent parliamentary committee is obliged to begin the procedure for electing a new composition no later than six months before the expiration of the mandate of the president and members of the CEC. The committee will establish a commission for the implementation of the election of the president and members of the CEC, which will have five members, namely two representatives of the Parliament (one from the government, one from the opposition) and one representative each of the Association of Judges, the University of Montenegro and non-governmental organizations dealing with the electoral process.

The committee submits the proposed list of candidates to the competent committee, which is obliged to determine the final list within 15 days of submission of the proposed list of candidates and submit it to the Parliament for consideration and decision-making.

"If the competent committee fails to establish a list of candidates for the election of the president and members of the Central Election Commission within the deadline, the Parliament will establish that list based on the proposed list of candidates drawn up by the Commission and make a decision on the election of the president and members of the CEC at the first following session, without a proposal from the competent committee," the draft states.

According to the draft, the mandate of the president and members of the CEC shall terminate before the expiration of the term for which they were elected by submitting their resignation, losing Montenegrin citizenship, due to permanent loss of working capacity, fulfilling the conditions for termination of employment by force of law, if they have been convicted by a final verdict, or by dismissal.

The document states that the president and member of the CEC are dismissed if it is determined that they provided incorrect information about themselves during the election process or failed to present information and circumstances that are important for the election, or if it is subsequently determined that they do not meet the requirements for that position.

The meeting was postponed because not all members of the Committee came.

The session of the Electoral Reform Committee, which was scheduled for yesterday and was supposed to discuss draft amendments to the Law on the Election of Councilors and Representatives and the Law on Financing Political Entities and Election Campaigns, has been postponed to today, the Parliament announced.

"The decision to postpone was made due to the inability to ensure the presence of the full complement of MPs from the government and opposition, due to previously undertaken obligations and intensive activities within the current parliamentary agenda," a statement published on the Parliament's website states.

The draft amendments to the Law on Financing Political Entities and Election Campaigns envisages an increase in budget allocations for the regular work of parliamentary parties to 0,8 percent, instead of the previous 0,5 percent of the current budget.