Councilor Force and former head of the Ulcinj Municipal Assembly (MA) Ardijan Mavrić still boycotting that parliament, representative of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Donika Škrelj has been in America for a long time and announces his resignation from the council, representative of the Civic Movement (GP) URA Valmir Perezić moved to the Albanian Alternative (AA) Nika Đeljošaj...
Little has changed in the functioning of the Ulcinj legislative chamber in the past year and a half, when the government in the coastal municipality was reorganized. The ruling majority there is currently operating harmoniously, perhaps mostly thanks to technology and the possibility of online participation in the municipal council sessions.
As in May last year, when the government changed, today the president of the Ulcinj parliament Ivana Popović (DPS) can count on the presence of a maximum of 19 majority councilors - two more than the quorum required to hold sessions.
Although the ruling coalition, after the reshuffle, has a "comfortable" majority, it is not unusual for individual councilors to use their right to participate online in the work of the municipal council in order to ensure a quorum. This is claimed by the opposition GP URA, while the majority councilors' clubs say that, despite the absences of some of their representatives, the local parliament is working regularly and there are no problems with the quorum.
After the establishment of the new government in May last year, the ruling coalition holds 21 of the 33 council seats in the Ulcinj Municipal Assembly.
The agreement on the formation of the ruling coalition was signed by the then presidents of the Democratic Party (DP) and Force Fatmir Đeka i Genzi Nimanbeg, leader of Ulcinj DPS Arjan Ljamović, leader of the local committee of the Social Democrats (SD) Ćazim Hodžić, President of the Democratic Alliance in Montenegro (DSCG) Saubih Mehmeti, head of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) committee Naser Resulbegović and president of the Bosniak Party (BS) board Muamer Rascic.
DP, Forca and DPS each have five seats in the Municipal Assembly, SD and DSCG have two each, while SDP and BS have one each.
In the opposition benches, in addition to the Democratic Union of Albanians (DUA) with four councilors and the Democrats with two - who were not part of the government even before the re-composition - there are also their colleagues from the GP URA with four mandates and AA with two, who until May last year were part of the ruling coalition with the DP, SD, SDP and Forca.
Recalling that the councilor mandates were verified immediately after the constitution of the Municipal Assembly, the President of the Ulcinj Parliament, Popović, said that the councilor clubs function "within the framework of the decisions and dynamics of the political entities that make them up", and that any changes in their composition take place through prescribed procedures.
"Council members are also able to attend sessions online," Popović told "Vijesti".
She stated that the practice is that councillors who justify their absence are entitled to compensation, while otherwise their amount is reduced. The councillor's compensation is 270 euros.
The president of the Ulcinj DPS, Ljamović, announced that their councilors regularly attend sessions and actively participate in the work of the municipal council.
"Except in cases where they are justifiably prevented. But even then they can exercise the right to participate online in the work of the Assembly, which is (a right) equal to physical presence, and is provided for by the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly. Councilor Donika Škrelja announced her resignation from the office of councilor, and it is a technical question of when she will implement it. After that, a new councilor will be elected from the DPS list," Ljamović announced to the editorial staff, adding that all councilors receive compensation in accordance with the decision of the Assembly, in the amount of 270 euros.
Head of the GP URA councilors' club Arjan Murati, he recalled that the party had five verified mandates after the 2022 local elections.
"Currently we have four, because Valmir Perezić, without any explanation, moved to Niko Đeljošaj's AA. All GP URA councilors regularly participate in the work of the sessions, and I can say that they are the most active. It regularly happens that the majority does not have a quorum for the session, so some councilors participate online in the work of the SO," Murati told "Vijesti".
President of the Democratic Union of Albanians Mehmed Zenka, stated that the party's councilors attend the municipal council sessions.
"And if someone is absent, it is always justified," he told the newspaper.
The situation is similar in other parties that have one or two representatives in the Ulcinj parliament.
For Forca, Mavrić is "excusably absent"
When it comes to his former president Mavrić, while he openly talks about the boycott, his party (Force) claims that it is a "justified absence."
Head of the Force parliamentary group Asalan Lunji, said that most councilors have an excuse for being absent from meetings.
"We generally do not have a majority problem, because all councilors are present except for those who are justifiably absent at a given moment. There is no boycott of the parliament by any councilor, and I think they now have the legal opportunity to report online, which they often do. We also have no cases of resignations. After all, and in accordance with the law, the position of a councilor who resigns belongs to the next on the list of candidates," Lunji told "Vijesti".
When asked why Mavrić is not attending sessions, Lunji replied that the former head of the Municipal Assembly is "justifiably absent."
However, Mavrić was explicit in his statement to the newspaper.
"In the coming period, I will declare my further actions in the local parliament. My boycott so far has lasted since the formation of the new majority, and is not an expression of passivity, but a principled stance towards the way it functions, in which I see no room for responsible and constructive action. I do not want to contribute to further divisions, but rather seek an environment in which decisions are made in the interest of the city, not the individual. I remain committed to protecting the public interest and am ready to contribute when the conditions for serious, transparent and responsible work are created," he said.
Earlier this year, a source from DPS told "Vijesti" that Mavrić was dissatisfied with the non-compliance with the agreement on the so-called rotation of leading positions in that municipality, which Forca had with its previous coalition partner - GP URA.
According to their coalition agreement, GP URA was supposed to hand over the leadership position in the southernmost municipality of Forci at the beginning of June last year, for two years, until regular elections, and take over the position of head of the local parliament from her. At that time, the municipality was headed by Omer Bajraktari (GP URA), headed by SO Mavrić.
"Vijesti" then, citing sources from the top of Force, announced that Mavrić was the most serious candidate for the position of mayor of the municipality, which no one denied. However, after the reshuffle of the government, in which there was no place for GP URA, the position of the first man of Ulcinj was taken by the leader of Force Genzi NimanbegMavrić respected the agreement with the URA GP on rotation, and on June 6, at the Municipal Assembly session, he resigned from the position he held.
Online only for health or other valid reasons
According to the Rules of Procedure of the Ulcinj Municipal Council (Article 72a), in the event of being prevented from attending a session, a councilor may participate in its work and make decisions outside the Municipal Council headquarters - "via secure information and communication technology".
"The councilor is obliged to inform the President of the Assembly, or the president of the working body, in writing or electronically, no later than the beginning of the session, of the existence of reasons for participating in the session remotely (health or other valid reasons)," the document states.
The Rules of Procedure state that, if a councilor participates in the session remotely, he or she must ensure that his or her communication device is connected to a network that enables real-time transmission of images and sound.
"A maximum of five councilors can attend the plenum remotely, while a maximum of two can attend the working body session," the Rules of Procedure state.
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