Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandić harshly criticized his colleagues from the ruling Europe Now Movement tonight, stating that he does not understand why they support the annual report of the State Prosecutor's Office, while at the same time accusing the institution of unconstitutionally wanting to be the fourth branch of government.
He called on Chief State Prosecutor Milorad Marković to resign and "deal with other matters," after he alleged that the institution was unconstitutionally trying to be a "fourth branch of government."
Marković later responded in the Montenegrin Parliament that he would not resign and that the prosecution service headed by him was an independent institution. He said that "certain political, interest and other spheres" expect certain cases to be dealt with and others not.
Previously, the leader of the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) reminded that the Constitution defines three branches of government, but not the one advocated by the prosecution.
"We sense arrogance, we sense a willingness to establish a fourth branch of government, which is unacceptable," Mandić added, saying that the prosecution often abuses its power.
He then told Marković that he had been politically elected, by agreement of the parliamentary majority.
"Stand up and say: I have not met expectations, I am resigning from this position... I expected you to do something for Milo Đukanović, Aco Đukanović, Brano Gvozdenović, Predrag Bošković... You are not allowed to say anything, and here you are dealing with cats and I don't know what," Mandić told Marković.
He stressed that those "who were sunflowers to Vesna Medenica" and served her and Ivica Stanković cannot be expected to serve someone else today. He then called on DPS MPs to speak out about how many votes each prosecutor provided them with.
Mandić said that he was the decisive politician who decided that Marković should become the Supreme State Prosecutor, explaining that he did so because he knew his father and thought that he would "be like him - determined, brave and persistent."
"The truth is, I was the one who decided to vote for Mr. Marković. And I was wrong. I think he should resign. I decided based on one fact - I worked with his father in the federal government... Today we have a special state prosecutor who is not here today. Mr. Novović is risking his head and the head of his family. Mr. Marković is continuing in the footsteps of his predecessor," he said.
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Mandić pointed out that the charges against Prime Minister Spajić are pending in the prosecutor's office, while those against members of the DPS are being dismissed. The head of parliament assessed that the prosecutor's office, by keeping criminal charges, wants to influence the deputies.
He said that in recent days, stories have been circulating in the media about how the prosecution is keeping some politicians in drawers and "that a report on their work will be passed in parliament." Mandić said that no one has members of the "For the Future of Montenegro" coalition "in drawers," adding that this power to keep a minister in drawers "must be resolved immediately."
"This is a much deeper and more serious crisis than what you portray with statistics. You have not lived up to my expectations. I apologize to everyone I promised that Mićo Marković's son would be a good prosecutor. And you are doing something else, you are not good for this," Mandić told Marković.
"Two-thirds of the MPs voted for this man. If there is no support from these two-thirds, then I guess it's time for him to resign and someone else to be elected," he added.
He emphasized that the Supreme State Prosecutor should be "someone who, in that position, can respond to what the people of Montenegro expect."
The Speaker of Parliament also told opposition MPs that Danilo Mandić is not a criminal.
"Maybe I could say that someone from the DPS had a father who participated in the attack on Dubrovnik," he pointed out.
DPS MP Andrija Nikolić pointed out that Mandić told the Supreme State Prosecutor that he was politically elected, which, according to him, indicates that political bargaining had taken place, and told Speaker Nikola Camaj that he had to stop his speech after that.
Europe Now MP Miodrag Laković said that "the coalition agreement does not give Mandić legitimacy to comment on what PES MPs will vote for."
The head of parliament responded that he could not influence how the strongest party in parliament would vote, but that there was no pardon for those who were elected to parliament.
"You are the strongest party in Montenegro and have the largest number of voters today. You are a bigger political organization than us, I admit that. You also have to understand my position, that something we agreed on, that these changes of attitude on the fly, is something no one wants," he said.
Supreme State Prosecutor Marković said that his reputation is more important than his office and that parliament can freely vote for his dismissal.
"No, I will not resign. Not because I enjoy or like listening to everything and anything. Not because someone is calling my late father names. I will not resign here because the prosecution with me at its head is independent and if I were to resign, I would give up on my key goal, which is the basis for Montenegro to join the EU. The prosecution is acting to the best of its ability. We live in a culture of expectations. The expectations are that within a year and eight months I should completely change all the shortcomings in the prosecution. The expectations are obviously from certain political, interest and other spheres that certain cases are acted upon and certain cases are not acted upon," he stressed.
Marković emphasized that the prosecution will not act in accordance with anyone's expectations, and that it will certainly not act against anyone because they are a member of a minority, political party, or some other group or characteristic.
He ultimately called on MPs to initiate a procedure to remove him from office if they were not satisfied with his work.
"Twenty-five MPs are enough. If you think he's not good, that's fine, but this prosecutor will not change or act differently, because my face is more important than my seat," he concluded.
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