Some ruling and opposition parties say they do not control who they accept as members, some of them are silent about it, indirectly suggesting that they do not conduct such checks either, while some claim that they "scan" the people they accept into their ranks through the local party base and structure.
"Vijesti" received such answers from these parties, asking them whether they control who they give membership cards to or whether their priority is just to distribute as many as possible, or whether it is more important to them to get members at all costs or what values, i.e. attitudes, those who receive them represent.
The strongest ruling party, the Europe Now Movement (PES), unofficially told the editorial staff that they do not have the ability or mechanisms to check those to whom they give party cards. However, they claim that, due to dissatisfaction with the work of certain officials who came from their ranks, they have removed such officials from their membership in the party bodies.
However, they did not specify which official or officials they were referring to, and whether they also meant the case of the former Minister of Urban Planning. Janko Odović, who, due to alleged disruption of party unity, was expelled from the PES in the spring of 2023.
The strongest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), did not tell the newspaper whether they have a mechanism to control people who join their party, but their response suggests that, even if they do, they do not do so.
"Our party is joined by people who believe in the idea, or rather, who live the idea on which the DPS policy is based - and that is the idea of an independent, civic, anti-fascist, European Montenegro. For five years now, the DPS has been in opposition, and even if there was once a clientelistic approach in the sense of individuals joining the party in order to achieve personal ambitions - that is no longer the case today," they claim.
The DPS states that the only interest of their new members is "the defense of the state and state interests, which have been threatened in the past half decade (since the fall of the DPS government, ed.) by those who govern Montenegro today."
"The trust of members, voters, and citizens is what makes DPS's policies indestructible, despite the numerous blows it has faced, and that is why it is our obligation to protect these people and that trust, which we are doing very successfully, as shown by the latest public opinion poll, the results of which confirmed that DPS is the party that the citizens of Montenegro trust the most," they said.
BOGDANOVIĆ: NO MEMBERS AT ANY PRICE
The ruling Democrats claim that every membership request is reviewed by their local base and structure, and that membership is denied if they recognize "that someone is not worthy of a Democratic membership card."
The head of the caucus of that party Boris Bogdanovic He told Vijesti that their primary goal is not simply to increase the number of members, but to “preserve the character and values of the party.” He reminded that, according to the Democrats' statute, any adult citizen of Montenegro who accepts the statute and program and voluntarily signs the application form can become a member.
"So, we are not creating a closed party, nor are we building elitism, but we are creating a clear value boundary: membership is not an automatic right, but a voluntary relationship that implies compliance with our principles," he added.
Bogdanović stated that this is why the statute also states that a member of the Democrats cannot be a member of another political entity, nor an organization that works contrary to their program and goals. This, he said, has very precisely protected the party from political infiltration, dual loyalties, hidden agendas...
"As for the membership process itself, we have made it widely available: electronically, via email, in the premises of municipal boards, through local boards and local activists. And that is precisely why, in order to prevent accessibility from becoming a vulnerability, every request for membership is checked through the local base and structure. And therein lies the essence of the answer: with us, it is not crucial that someone just comes - what is crucial is who comes and with what intentions they come," Bogdanović pointed out.
The interviewee said that if an "omission" occurs - because, according to him, no system in a party with tens of thousands of members can be mathematically perfect - membership will be excluded.
"We do not have 'members at any cost'... There will always be attempts to make a mistake through mass membership, especially electronically, for someone to try to infiltrate, take advantage of a time loop or deliberately spread incorrect information. These are cases that cannot be immediately detected, because the party does not have a database from which it draws information about citizens, but rather relies on its infrastructure and the information that the infrastructure has, and this is where it often makes mistakes," Bogdanović concluded.
BS: WE CARE ABOUT THE MEMBERS OF THE BODY
The ruling Bosniak Party (BS) says that they do not conduct additional checks on those who join the party. The BS told the editorial staff that membership in the party is voluntary and free, and is not subject to any additional checks, but that one becomes a member of the BS by signing an application. By doing so, as they state, members accept the BS statute and program.
"When we talk about membership in BS bodies, then the proposers are obliged to take into account who they propose, taking into account, among other things, the values and political views of these persons, as well as other publicly available information, all with the aim of preserving the credibility of BS," the party said.
Head of the media team of the opposition Civic Movement (GP) URA Bosko Laketić, told the newspaper that the party is open to all citizens who want to contribute to the fight for a civil, fairer, European, ecological, and economically stronger Montenegro.
"When it comes to positioning and working within the organization itself, those citizens who can make a greater contribution to our common struggle with their knowledge, energy, and integrity will always have an advantage," he said.
Laketić said that sometimes even a small number of people who believe in the idea and goals and are willing to make the effort to achieve them can achieve much more than those who are only there on paper. So, as he added, it is certainly important who the people who make up and join the GP URA are.
"URA, as the only truly civic party, has always been recognized for being made up of free and strong individuals, and that is why, perhaps more than is the case in other parties, it has always been important for us who the people who make up our organization are, what values and ideas they represent...", Laketić underlined.
The ruling New Serbian Democracy (NSD) and the Democratic People's Party (DNP), as well as the opposition European Alliance, did not respond to the editorial team's questions about whether they control who they admit to membership.
PEROVIĆ: MASSIVENESS BEFORE VALUES
The number of party members symbolizes political power and seriousness, provides logistics and a secure voter base, and in Montenegro, where party density is high and politics is often a means of personal gain - mass membership is encouraged without strict verification.
This was assessed by a political scientist for "Vijesti". Miloš Perović and retired professor at the Belgrade Faculty of Political Sciences (FPN) Zoran Stojiljkovic.
Perović said that in the practice of parties in Montenegro, and even in the Balkans, there is a significant gap between what is written in their statutes and what happens on the ground.
"On paper, admission rules are often formally strict. However, the real focus is largely on mass appeal," he claims.
Perović said that, most often, joining comes down to filling out an online form or signing an application at a booth or in a local committee, while a detailed check of biography, education, or past is reserved exclusively for people aspiring to office.
"However, the number of members is important because it represents the perception of a party's power. It sends a message to both voters and coalition partners that they are a 'serious player'. A larger number of members ensures better logistics on the ground, funding and membership fees, as well as a base of confident voters, so it is not surprising that mass is often ahead of value," Perović pointed out.
He stated that, for example, according to the latest data (from early 2026), the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in Serbia has around 700.000 to 750.000 members, and that he is not sure what kind of detailed verification when joining the party can be said to account for such figures.
STOJILJKOVIĆ: THE MORAL CHARACTER OF MEMBERS IS IMPORTANT
Zoran Stojiljković states that Montenegro belongs to societies with high party density, in which party membership accounts for 10-15 percent of the electorate. This is because, he says, politics is a kind of favorite hobby that can be turned into a profitable activity.
"In such a framework, verifying membership is a rare practice, especially when it comes to wealthy patrons or public figures," he said.
Stojiljković said that parties should take into account - for the sake of their own rating and credibility - the values and political profile, moral character and work of people who join, as well as their competencies. Especially when, he noted, they are usually candidates for public office.
"These are political infiltrators or party flyers who go from party to party, offering their services while remaining in power in all regimes. In my opinion, there is no political benefit from new members and dignitaries if they cannot pass the test of reputation and trust in the environments in which they operate," Stojiljković said.
Perović: Anyone who promises votes is welcome
Responding to the question of whether parties more often accept new people at any cost, or take into account who comes to them, Miloš Perović said that the situation in Montenegro is very specific because, as he explained, the political scene has been based on sharp polarization for decades, so a membership card was often more important as a confirmation of loyalty than as proof of ideological closeness.
"After the political changes of 2020, a 'membership hunt' began in Montenegro. Newer and emerging parties wanted to gain mass support as soon as possible to show their strength, while 'old' parties tried to retain people. This led to the fact that, to a large extent, the value test was reduced to a minimum," Perović said.
He assessed that parties in Montenegro take into account numbers because they bring mandates, and mandates bring power.
"Although values are most often used as a form for the public, in practice the door is mostly opened to anyone who 'promises votes'," concluded Perović.
As "Vijesti" wrote at the end of 2023, PES then had about 5.000 members, NSD about 10.100, Democrats about 20.000 members, the same as DPS. DNP at the end of 2023 had between 2,5 thousand and three thousand members, but they pointed out at the time that they had not done a re-registration since 2020. BS then had about six thousand members.
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