Political games prevented the completion of the Constitutional Court yesterday, so instead of the three judges that the institution is missing, the deputies elected only one.
In the second round of voting, after the unsuccessful first round a month and a half ago, the Assembly elected Jovan Jovanovic for judge, while the remaining two candidates, Mirjana Radovic i Mirjana Vučinić, did not receive the support necessary to reach the same position.
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The court that protects constitutionality and legality had four judges until yesterday - out of the seven that should be there. With the election of Jovanović, their number increased to five, but only briefly, as the judge's term expires at the end of the year. Desanka Lopičić, so there will be four of them again. The Constitutional Court with that number of judges is not blocked and can decide, but in that case it needs all four judges to vote in the same way.
The election of only one judge, according to the interlocutors of "Vijesti", sends a bad message - that the process of electing the "guardians" of the Constitution is a victim of political games. This, they add, slows down the process of Montenegro's negotiations with the European Union (EU). The interlocutors say that they doubt that anyone will bear responsibility for the unsuccessful outcome of yesterday's vote.
In the second round of voting, the election of judges of the Constitutional Court requires three-fifths of the support - 49 votes. The first attempt to elect judges failed on October 14, because none of the proposed candidates received a two-thirds majority - 54 "hands" of parliamentarians. Vučinić was nominated as a judge by the head of state Jakov Milatović, and Radović and Jovanović by the parliamentary Constitutional Committee.
How was the vote?
Until yesterday, the judge of the Higher Court in Podgorica, Jovan Jovanović, had 50 votes in favor, one against, while three MPs abstained.
All representatives of the government, except for the Bosniak Party (BS), voted for him - the Europe Now Movement (PES), New Serbian Democracy (NSD), Democratic People's Party (DNP), Democrats, Socialist People's Party (SNP), Albanian Forum, Albanian Alliance and CIVIS - but also representatives of the opposition Mehmet Zenka (Democratic Union of Albanians), Vladimir Dobričanin (United Montenegro), and independent representatives Radinka Ćinćur i Jevrosima Pejović.
He was against it. Admir Adrović (BS), while his colleagues from the party Kenana Strujić Harbić, Amer Smailovic i Edina Dešić were abstained. BS previously announced that it would not support any candidate because it demands that at least one judge of the Constitutional Court be a member of the Bosniak people.
Mirjana Radović was supported by 47 members of parliament, two were against, and three abstained. All government members voted for her election, except for BS and Dobričanin. Adrović and Nikola Zirojevic (Social Democrats), and Strujić Harbić, Smailović and Dešić abstained.
45 MPs voted for the election of lawyer Mirjana Vučinić, 11 abstained, and none were against.
She was voted for by 11 out of 17 MPs from the opposition Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), which announced its support for the candidate ahead of the vote. However, the DPS leader was not present in the assembly hall at the time of the decision. Danijel Zivkovic, head of the parliamentary group of that party Andrija Nikolić, nor the messengers Oscar Hutter, Zoja Bojanić Lalović, Abaz Dizdarević i Sonja Popovic.
All three Social Democrats (SD) MPs also "raised their hands" for Vučinić, Milos Konatar from the Civic Movement (GP) URA, Adrian Vuksanovic (Croatian Civic Initiative), Dobričanin, Zenka, Ćinćur and Pejović.
Vučinić also received the support of part of the ruling majority - all NSD MPs Andrije Mandić i DNP-a Milan Knežević, SNP and Albanian Forum, Albanian Alliance MPs Ilir Capuni i CIVIS-a Maja Vučelić, as well as some (six out of 20) PES representatives - Miloš Pižurica, Miodrag Lakovića, Seida Hadzic, Dragana Vučević, Milan Zečević i Dane Marković.
Abstaining were, along with three BS MPs, PES MPs. Gordan Stojović, Tonći Janović, Vladimir Bakrač, Armen Šehović, Branka Markovic, Darko Dragović, Jelenka Andric i Drazen Petrić.
PES representatives did not participate in the vote to elect Vučinić. Vasilije Carapić, Ugleša Urošević, Boris Pejović, Jovan Subotic, Jelena Nedović i Nadja Laković, neither Democrats, who resent the lawyer for representing the company "Bemaks".
Gambling
"Vijesti" sources from part of the parliamentary majority claim that PES, or rather the majority of its deputies, denied support to Vučinić after candidate Radović did not receive a "pass". One interlocutor claims that this was allegedly a response to the fact that deputies Ćinćur and Pejović, who are considered close to the head of state Milatović, did not vote for Radović, who, as it turns out, was missing exactly two "hands" for the election.
At the same time, it is clear that Jovanović would not have been elected if it were not for the votes of Ćinćur and Pejović.
In early October, Ćinćur told "Vijesti" that she could not support "persons who do not meet the requirements to be judges" for the Constitutional Court, adding that she would not raise her hand for a candidate who does not have a bar exam - Radović.
That there was calculation on the eve of the declaration and that PES, despite hints that it might vote for Vučinić, was not ready to give her unqualified support, is evidenced by the fact that, although the head of state's proposal reached the Parliament first, it was the latter that decided on his candidate. Sources from PES told the editorial office the day before yesterday that the party's MPs are "moving towards" voting for all three candidates.
When asked why the PES club voted differently, the party unofficially told "Vijesti" that they "voted as they voted" and that they "made a step forward", but that the opposition did not.
"If the opposition had made a step forward, we would have made a bigger one," a source from the prime minister's party said. Milojko Spajić.
Regardless of PES's position when voting on Vučinić, the fact is that she would have been elected if four of the six missing DPS deputies had been in the plenary hall.
Nikolić: They didn't call us, nor did they need us
Head of the DPS Parliamentary Club Andrija Nikolić, told "Vijesti" that there was no good intention on the part of the authorities to elect all three candidates, saying that such a development could have been avoided if there had been "adequate communication".
"They didn't call us from the government, nor did they need us. After all, there are enough of them in the majority that, as they themselves say, they don't even need the opposition," said Nikolić.
He reiterated that the DPS parliamentary group announced its support for Vučinić even before the first round of voting, when, as they did yesterday, they supported her election. He stressed that there had been "no communication or dialogue" between the government and the opposition on the issue of the election of Constitutional Court judges.
"In this context, there was no agreement on the date of the vote, because some DPS deputies announced their absence (an official visit to the National Community of Montenegrins in Croatia, which was agreed upon 20 days ago), while another part of our deputies was absent from yesterday's session for health reasons," he claims.
Nikolić assessed that yesterday's "calculation of the authorities during the voting", as well as the "deliberately reversed order in relation to the declaration of candidates", is an indicator of the "complete lack of intention" of the parliamentary majority to fulfill the obligations from the European agenda in accordance with the interests of the citizens of Montenegro, which, he claims, is also evidenced by the divided voting of PES deputies.
"As far as DPS is concerned, we confirmed this determination in both the first and second rounds of voting," he stated.
GP URA: The government expects the opposition to "take them out"
The URA GP, whose three out of four MPs did not vote yesterday, unofficially told "Vijesti" that their representatives were absent for personal reasons.
A source from the newspaper from that party said that the ruling majority "fake the processes", and that, although they have more MPs than enough to elect judges in the second round, they expect the opposition to "take them out" every time, recalling the opposition's support for the so-called IBAR laws, the election of the Supreme State Prosecutor, electoral reform, other appointments in the judiciary...
As he added, the parliamentary majority "imposed party candidates" for the Constitutional Court and, he claims, it was unserious to expect the opposition to vote for them.
"They need to see within themselves why their MPs vote differently for the same candidates," the interlocutor said.
The Constitutional Committee announced the election of two judges on December 23 last year, and heard all the candidates in mid-March, but only proposed them in early October. Milatović submitted his proposal in May. In the meantime, the head of state has announced a new announcement for the election of one judge, the “successor” of Desanka Lopičić.
The procedure for the election of two judges, as announced by the Constitutional Committee, was suspended after the hearing of the candidates, pending the opinion of the Venice Commission on the case of the former Constitutional Court judge. Dragan Đuranović.
Marić: Irresponsibility and political corruption
Lawyer and former Secretary General of the Government Boris Marić, assessed that the election of only one judge is not a good message ahead of the expected closing of the chapter in negotiations with the EU.
"Once again, the election of Constitutional Court judges is a victim of political games, and thus the negotiation process is being slowed down and some good tendencies of the negotiation process with the EU are being disrupted," he told "Vijesti".
As he added, it is unfortunate that the Constitutional Court has been a "coin for politicians to use to make change almost throughout the negotiations with the EU."
"Now we can interpret this as a continuation of demonstrating the partial interests of political entities, primarily the government, over the public interest," Marić said.
The interviewee noted that the election of judges of the Constitutional Court is always a political issue, but that if that process turns into political bargaining, then it is also a matter of political and social irresponsibility, and even political corruption.
Bajramspahić: Lack of skill and tact
Civic activist Dina Bajramspahić, said that it was a pity that not all the missing judges of the Constitutional Court were elected - both for the sake of that institution and for the European agenda.
"Filling key positions in the area of the rule of law is an imperative and an explicit request from the EU. It is true that the blockade of the court's work has been avoided, but with the shortage of judges, its efficiency and functionality are at risk," she told "Vijesti".
As she added, she has repeatedly publicly emphasized that the arrogance with which PES tried to "impose their favorites" on everyone will backfire, believing that others will have no choice but to comply with their preferences.
"What was easy to predict has been shown - that very little can be achieved in Montenegro through exclusivity and imposition, especially in key institutions that need broad public trust and legitimacy," the interviewee underlined.
According to her, the only constructive lesson from this failed party trade can be that PES and other ruling parties learn how to manage delicate processes and that state affairs cannot be conducted without skill and tact.
"Unfortunately, I doubt that anyone will bear responsibility for the unsuccessful outcome of this process," Bajramspahić concluded.
Milatović: Citizens expected accountability from all MPs
President Milatović wrote yesterday on the "Iks" website that citizens expected all MPs to be accountable in relation to the proposed candidates and their biographies.
"Therefore, every missed opportunity deepens the constitutional crisis, endangers the institutions and Montenegro's European path," he said.
Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević (PES) announced yesterday that the election of Jovanović prevented the blockage of the Constitutional Court, but that the institution remains incomplete.
"Although I appreciate that after a long period of indecision, this decision has confirmed the democratic capacity of the Parliament and mature political action towards our common European future, the job is not fully done," said Gorčević.
She said that it is necessary to open a dialogue as soon as possible in order to create the prerequisites for the election of the remaining missing judges, in accordance with the law and parliamentary procedures.
The European Commission (EC) has repeatedly said that the EU expects Montenegro to appoint three judges to the Constitutional Court, without further delay, "through a transparent and merit-based selection process."
If the Parliament could elect judges again
After the selection of two out of three candidates failed, the procedure for their nomination will have to be started again. Given that, until the decision is made, it does not depend on the Assembly, Milatović can complete this process in a relatively short period of time. However, the Constitutional Committee will need much more time for this.
The Board must first advertise for candidates, which is usually set for a month. After that deadline, it must wait a few more days for applications sent by mail to arrive. The Board must then form a committee to assess the validity of the applications. Once it has completed its work, it begins the process of interviewing candidates.
Even if all these steps are completed promptly and the Committee proposes a candidate, the problem is that on January 1, the Parliament goes on “recess,” that is, it enters an extraordinary session that lasts until the end of February. According to the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, only proposers of acts can submit a proposal for an extraordinary session, and since the candidate for judge is proposed by the Constitutional Committee, it cannot submit a request for a session because it is not, according to the Constitution, an authorized proposer. Milatović, on the other hand, can request an extraordinary session because he has the right to do so under the Constitution.
However, if, as in some previous cases, a “broad” interpretation of the Rules of Procedure and the Constitution were applied, and if the deputies were allowed to schedule an extraordinary session to decide on judges, then, given the current dynamics of the legislative chamber, it could take place in mid-February at the earliest. And if we were to wait for the regular session, it could take place on March 1 at the earliest. Which means that the election of judges to the Constitutional Court would potentially have to wait at least another three months.
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