By voting twice, and as the opposition claims, in gross violation of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, the councilors of the ruling majority in Kolašin managed to include in the agenda of today's session of the local parliament the Program for the erection of a memorial, that is, a monument to the late Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Amfilohije.
The opposition, that is, the councilors of the Movement Together We Build Kolašin (DPS, SDP, SD and citizens), previously had objections because the material for that agenda item arrived late, and they believe that this also violated the Rules of Procedure, so the Program should not be on the agenda of today's session.
At the time of the first vote to discuss the Program today, there were only 19 councilors in the hall, including four opposition members, who said they would not participate in the vote. As a result, only 15 councilors from the ruling majority voted "in favor", which was not enough votes to include the decision on the agenda. After that, the work was paused, but the break was not officially announced, that is, the audio recording was turned off, and while the councilor was waiting, a heated argument took place between the President of the Municipal Assembly (MA) Vasilije Bulatović and the councilor of the Together We Build Kolašin Movement Bojan Zeković. Only when the previously absent councilor from the ruling majority entered the hall, was the vote repeated, and the Program became part of the agenda of today's session with 16 votes "in favor".
Previously, Zeković and his colleague from the Together We Build Kolašin Movement, Matija Bulatović, had repeatedly appealed to the ruling majority not to participate in the vote, which they said was a violation of the Rules of Procedure.
The president of the municipal council, during the “break” between the two votes, said that “the counting is still ongoing,” and that “the session has not been interrupted, but the audio recording has been turned off.” Opposition councilors demanded that Bulatović explain “what is happening at the session and what is expected.”
"I have the right to stop the recording when I conclude that the topic is not for the public. You have turned the session in an unwanted direction. Now I am guarding you. The session is still ongoing, it has been suggested to me that we did not count the votes correctly," the speaker of parliament explained "what this is about."
When the "missing" councilor from the ruling majority entered, the vote was taken again, and thus the Program became an integral part of the agenda.
"You deliberately deceived the Assembly in front of everyone and every councilor of the ruling majority knows it, and you know it too. You had the results of the first vote, so we waited for the councilor to come, and in the meantime you tell us that you counted incorrectly. You do not allow filming. Now you are going to continue like this? I want you to state that you deceived the Assembly and that you are not working according to the Rules of Procedure," Zeković told Bulatović.
The Government gave preliminary approval for the erection of a monument to Metropolitan Amfilohije on September 18. The Program's explanation states that on January 28, 2023, the Municipality of Kolašin signed a Donation Agreement with the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral, by which it allocated and paid the Metropolitanate the amount of 50.000 euros for the erection of a memorial to the late Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, Amfilohije.
"Article 9, paragraph 2 of the Law on Memorials provides that a memorial cannot be erected before the expiration of 20 years from the date of the person's death, and paragraph 3 of the same article states that exceptionally, with the prior consent of the Government of Montenegro, a memorial to a prominent figure may be erected before the expiration of 20 years. After obtaining the consent of the Government of Montenegro and the Ministry of Culture and Media, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Memorials, a memorial is erected exclusively on the basis of the Memorial Erection Program, adopted by the Parliament," the explanation reads.
As was heard at today's session, the monument will be erected at the end of October, and in the meantime the Kolašin Municipal Council needs to make a decision, as well as the Government giving another approval. This is allegedly the reason for the "rush" to adopt the program.
The Deputy Mayor of the Municipality, Vasilije Ivanović, said that the reason for the rush was not "political interest, but a moral obligation."
In the continuation of the session, which was interrupted at 1 pm, and will probably be resumed at 3:30 pm, the councilors began a discussion on the proposal for a Decision on the establishment of the Agency for Design and Spatial Planning. The discussion on this item on the agenda will continue, and at the very beginning, the opposition councilors had numerous doubts and objections, especially regarding the fact that one of the requirements for the director of that company is a year of work experience.
If they continue their work today, the councilors will have an extensive agenda, including proposed decisions on the establishment of a parking service, the final budget statement for last year, real estate tax, and approval of the price list for "Water and Sewerage" services...
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