Odžić: We did not want the million-dollar amount to be given to any religious community

The councilors of the European Union, as we previously announced, did not vote for the budget of the Municipality of Budva for 2026, announced today Petar Odžić, President of the Municipal Assembly (MA) of Budva and representative of the European Union

"We did not want the million-dollar amount to be given to any religious community, because we believe that our city has many missing infrastructure and other projects of essential importance for all our fellow citizens. We remain firmly committed to the position that it is necessary to respect the principle of secularism, that is, the separation of the state and religious communities, and that this principle should also apply when it comes to local self-government," Odžić wrote on the social network X.

The budget of the city of Budva for the coming year was adopted by secret ballot earlier today, leaving the public with no information about who the councilors were who decided to achieve a majority in parliament.

Of the 20 present, because part of the opposition from the ranks of the Democratic People's Party (DNP), Democratic Montenegro and the Movement for the City walked out of the session, while the remaining councilors were from the Movement for Change (PZP) and the Europe Now Movement (PES), 18 voted for the budget, and two councilors abstained.

On the eve of the budget vote with the controversial item to approve a million-dollar donation to the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), which is why the Mayor Nikola Jovanović requested a secret ballot, the President of the Municipal Assembly, Petar Odžić, said that the European Union, namely he and councilor Jovo Perović, would abstain.

Jovanović's "Budva our city" (nine councilors) was clearly in favor of the budget, and the councilor of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), Nikola Milović, said that their seven councilors would also be in favor.

The decisive vote was missed by the Civic Movement URA councilor, who was absent. After a long break and absence from the local parliament, PZP councilor Nikola Vučićević appeared. He told "Vijesti" that he had abstained. The European Union told "Vijesti" that they had also abstained.

Therefore, it remains unknown who actually abstained, because PES councilor Dejan Rabrenović said that he also abstained.

If everyone who told "Vijesti" had abstained, the budget would not have been adopted because the result would have been 16 councilors in favor and four abstaining.