In the referendum to be held in Zeta on December 14th regarding the issue of building a wastewater treatment plant (collector) in Botun, citizens of that municipality will be able to vote at 26 polling stations, while three will be in prison units.
This was announced to "Vijesti" by the President of the Referendum Commission. Pavle Cavnic.
Zećani will be able to vote at polling stations in Golubovci, Mahala, Mojanovići, Goričani, Anovi, Gošići, Srpska, Mitrovići, Botun, Ljajkovići, Donja Cijevna, Balabani, Mataguži, Berislavci, Gostilje, Šušunja, Bijelo Polje, Bistrice, Ponari, Vukovci and Vranjina, as well as prisons in Spuž and Bijelo Polje.
The polling stations were proposed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP), and the commission established them at a session the night before last. The Department Danilo Saranovic He is also responsible for maintaining the voter register, and will conclude it ten days early for the referendum - on December 3rd at midnight.
The commission consists of seven members, and its task is also to form electoral committees. They will also consist of seven people, three from the ruling and opposition parties, while the seventh (presidents) will be elected by lot - based on the results of the last local elections in 2022.
While for elections, the State Election Commission appoints committees in prison units, for referendums they are also under the jurisdiction of the Referendum Commission.
Also, if there is an appeal against the decisions of the commission, they will be decided by the Constitutional Court.
In the 2023 parliamentary elections (the last in the territory of Zeta), 12.554 citizens had the right to vote.
In early October, the Zeta Municipal Assembly unanimously adopted a decision to call a local referendum to ask citizens to vote on the construction of a collector in Botun.
According to the Law on Local Self-Government, “a municipal referendum may be called for the purpose of prior declaration by citizens on the territory of the municipality on certain issues within the jurisdiction of local self-government in cases, in the manner and according to the procedure established by the municipal statute, in accordance with the law” (Article 163).
Ten days ago, the residents of Botuni set up a tent and announced that they would defend the construction of the collector with a day-and-night guard, announcing that they would remain on the ground until the day of the referendum, and even longer "if anyone tries to carry out the work by force."
They are calling on the Mayor of Podgorica to compromise on another location where the collector would be built. Saša Mujović (Europe Now Movement - PES), Minister of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property Slaven Radunović (New Serbian Democracy), Prime Minister Milojko Spajić (PES) and other government representatives.
The construction of a collector in the Zeta settlement of Botun has been talked about for more than a decade, and the topic has grown from a local to a national issue. The Spajić government has repeatedly emphasized that the construction of the plant is a key item in closing Chapter 27 (Environment and Climate Change) of the negotiations with the European Union (EU), a position shared by European officials.
The collector should solve the issue of wastewater treatment from the capital, because the existing plant was built in 1978 and was designed for 55.000 residents, while Podgorica today, according to the 2023 census, has almost 180.000 residents.
The Botun facility is the largest environmental project the EU has supported in Montenegro to date, providing almost €33 million in grants for a new sewage system and collector, covering over 40 percent of the total investment, with additional support through a loan from the KfW bank.
Zećani will be able to vote on the construction of the collector at polling stations in Golubovci, Mahala, Mojanovići, Goričani, Anovi, Gošići, Srpska, Mitrovići, Botun, Ljajkovići, Donja Cijevna, Balabani, Mataguži, Berislavci, Gostilje, Šušunja, Bijelo Polje, Bistrice, Ponari, Vukovci and Vranjina, as well as at prisons in Spuž and Bijelo Polje.
The construction of the collector is opposed by locals, the Municipality of Zeta and the Democratic People's Party Milan Knežević, who threatened that his party representatives would "overthrow" the government in Podgorica if the project was implemented. They claim that the construction of the collector would negatively affect the environment and people's health, and the locals said that they would "defend their village with the only thing they have - their lives."
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has given the Capital City approval for the Environmental Impact Assessment Study of the collector, claiming that there can be no pollution of air, water and soil, that flora and fauna are not endangered, and that the planned system is based on the application of the most modern technologies...
The project for a new wastewater treatment plant in Podgorica has been discussed for more than a decade, ever since the time when the city was headed by Miomir Mugoš (DPS).
During the term of office Slavoljub Stijepović (DPS), in 2017, a loan agreement was signed with the German Bank for Reconstruction and Development and a donation of 10 million was received from the European Union.
All this time, the locals of Botun opposed the project.
Podgorica Mayor Saša Mujović has repeated several times that the construction of the collector in Botun must begin by the end of the year, because this is the only way for Podgorica to get a wastewater treatment system without having to pay tens of millions of euros in damages if the work does not begin...
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