Ten candidates applied for the announcement for the election of the president and four members of the Central Election Commission.

Ten candidates applied for the advertisement for the election of the president and four members of the Central Election Commission (CEC).

This was published on the website of the Parliament of Montenegro.

Applications for the competition, which ended on January 27, were submitted by Amer Šukurica (for president and member), Boris Bastijančić (for president and member), Damir Rebronja (for president and member), Veljko Vujović (for president and member), Marija Raspopović (for president and member), Muhamed Đokaj (for president and member), Uroš Vukićević (for president), Boris Vukašinović (for member), Boško Nenezić (for member) and Gordana Mitrović (for member).

As stated on the website, the Commission for the Implementation of the Election of the President and Members of the CEC will, after receiving information from the competent state authorities, as soon as possible make a decision on the timeliness and completeness of the applications, and then draw up a List of candidates who meet the requirements set out in Articles 24 and 25 of the Law on the Election of Councilors and Representatives.

The first competition for their election was unsuccessful. The Commission, headed by Justice Minister Bojan Božović, announced on December 24th last year that they had unanimously decided that the only candidate for president from that competition did not meet the legal criteria.

The conditions for the election of the president and members of the CEC include that candidates have at least a VII1 level of education in the field of legal sciences, at least ten years of professional experience, of which at least five in the field of elections.

SEC member Damir Suljević recently told "Vijesti" that with the resignation of newly elected Constitutional Court judge Nikola Mugoša as president of the SEC, that institution is entering a de facto blockade, because none of its members has the authority to schedule a session at which decisions would be made.

"From the moment the president's resignation was confirmed, the SEC has been in complete legal and functional paralysis, and the only legally prescribed way out of this situation is the election of the CEC, which will take over its responsibilities," he said.

Suljević also said that, considering that the selection of the CEC is a lengthy process, as well as the fact that the procedure following the first competition was unsuccessful, there is no guarantee that this body will be elected in the second attempt.

"In such a scenario, the process could take months, which is why, in order to overcome the blockade, amendments to the Law on the Election of Councilors and Representatives should possibly be considered," Suljević assessed.

The Commission for the Implementation of the Election of the President and Members of the CEC previously announced that they have the important task of carrying out the procedure of "transparent selection of candidates...". They also stated that this begins the process of depoliticization and professionalization of the election administration, which was proclaimed and legally defined by the first part of the electoral reform from July last year.