The Pljevlja committees of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and the Bosniak Party (BS) have announced a renewed initiative to remove the president of that municipality, Dario Vraneš.
This was announced by the head of the councilors' club of the strongest opposition party, Marko Tošić, at a press conference held in the local parliament building.
At the beginning of his speech, he said that since they moved to the opposition benches two and a half years ago, they have been a constructive opposition, but also that they have used that period to objectively look at their own results while in power.
"From the first day, we warned both the councilors and citizens of Pljevlja, and especially the councilors of the so-called civic parties, what the election of Dario Vraneš as the President of the Municipality of Pljevlja would bring to all of us. He brought incompetent and ill-intentioned leadership, inaction, inaction, primitivism and polarization of Pljevlja. Today, two and a half years after the change of government, more and more of our citizens realize that they made the wrong decision back then, in 2022, in the form of supporting the parties they voted for. And frankly, at least 30 percent of the citizens of Pljevlja regret voting that way back then," he said.
As he added, he is talking about this based on what they hear every day from the citizens of Pljevlja, who did not support his party in October 2022 because, as he assessed, they were misled by the populist rhetoric of their political opponents.
"That is why we, as a responsible party and responsible people, and for the sake of all well-intentioned citizens of Pljevlja, regardless of national, political or religious affiliation, have decided to once again launch an initiative to remove the President of the Municipality of Pljevlja, Dario Vraneš. As you know, the reasons for this initiative are numerous, we will present to you those we consider the most important. Measurable results have not been achieved in terms of the development of local self-government. Instead of working on improving the quality of life of all citizens and implementing the strategic plan of the Municipality, the Mayor has focused on topics that deepen divisions and introduce political and social instability among citizens. And imagine when, after two and a half years, the government and the Mayor only brag about the murals painted on apartment buildings, as if he were the president of some art club, and not the mayor. Look at the condition of the streets in the city, as if we live in a war-torn country, and not in a municipality whose development no one can stop, as we often hear," he said.
"I don't even know the number of tenders awarded, and when we talk about the implementation of the capital budget for the first half of 2025, it is only 15%. The quality of services that local government provides to citizens is never worse, and services are never more expensive, as if we were living in London, not in Pljevlja. The current budget, when excluding transferred and unspent funds from previous years, exceeds the real revenues generated by the Municipality of Pljevlja in the calendar year," added Tošić.
The DPS councilor emphasizes that he does not intend to scare anyone, but that he fears that in 2027, the Pljevlja Municipality budget will not have funds for any serious infrastructure projects, that salaries and social benefits will have to be reduced, as well as allocations for culture, sports and agriculture.
"I am sure that the majority of citizens of Pljevlja did not vote for this. The money of the citizens of Pljevlja was spent contrary to the interests of the citizens on manifestations and events with political and nationalistic connotations, including organized bus trips to rallies in support of Aleksandar Vučić. Instead of the 21st century, in 2025, the Mayor is dealing with solving the pressing problems of the citizens of Pljevlja, such as poor road infrastructure in the city, so that citizens do not break their legs and cars in potholes and craters, the President in 2025 is talking about Chetniks and Partisans. Imagine the paradox, there is no money for athletes and sports clubs, and there is money for organizing bus transportation to rallies in support of the Aleksandar Vučić regime. The Mayor should perform his function in accordance with the Constitution and laws of Montenegro, acting in the interests of all citizens, while respecting democratic values and the principles of civic responsibility and protection of the public interest," he said.
Tošić asked whether the mayor could be a man who insults and attacks his fellow citizens as well as employees of the local government.
"And what makes Dario Vraneš especially unworthy of the position of Mayor is the scandalous act of setting fire to a Municipal Police vehicle. A few days ago, you all had the opportunity to read that three local government employees were arrested on suspicion of setting fire to a Municipal Police vehicle on July 1, 2025. Today, no one in Pljevlja should have any doubt that the direct orderer for setting fire to a Municipal Police vehicle was Dario Vraneš. According to the information we have, five local government employees did not pass a polygraph test. I would like to use this opportunity to call on the young men suspected of setting fire to a Municipal Police vehicle to tell the competent state authorities the truth about who ordered this criminal act and in this way clear themselves and their families of the blame. What citizens also need to know is that this was a deliberate action directed by the Mayor, where the residents were to be accused of setting fire to a Municipal Police vehicle, and all the residents passed a polygraph test, and to blame the Democratic Party socialists, and to derive personal unlawful material benefit from the construction of a part of Omladinska Street," he announced.
Tošić called on the competent state authorities to conduct an investigation into the commission of this criminal offense in accordance with the law and to inform the public about the results as soon as possible.
"And as you know, this is the second initiative that the Democratic Party of Socialists is trying to put on the Assembly agenda. The first initiative was in June 2023, when the Mayor treated the celebration of national holidays with disdain. Holidays of the state that he represents, from which he receives a salary and from which he tries to enrich himself with his criminal activities. Based on everything I have told you, I think it is clear to everyone that Dario Vraneš is unworthy of continuing to serve as Mayor of the Municipality of Pljevlja in the future," he said.
He added that, if DPS were guided solely by its own personal party interests, this initiative would never have come from them, because the way Vranes acts is most damaging to the Democrats and the Europe Now Movement (PES), whose support has been diminished since the elections.
"Our main reason for submitting this initiative is to protect the interests of the city we live in and the city we love. This time, we expect support for our initiative from both PES and Democrat councilors, as well as from some New Serbian Democracy councilors who have been dissatisfied with the way Dario Vranes has been governing the Municipality of Pljevlja for a long time. It is a question of the personal integrity of each councilor, from the government and the opposition, whether they are allowed to publicly express their dissatisfaction with the way Dario Vranes is performing his duties as the Mayor of the Municipality, which they do not hide when they leave the public scene. Or will it be that this time too, the fear of losing their seats is tarnishing their faces. Basically, we will have to see in the coming days what the outcome of our initiative will be," he said.
Responding to a journalist's question, he said that 12 signatures were needed for the initiative to be included on the agenda, and announced that they would inform the public about further steps if they did not have enough.
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