MPs will not vote on the candidate for Constitutional Court judge today Predrag Krstonijević, but will only determine the agenda of the extraordinary session of parliament - "Vijesti" learns.
Krstonijević, who was nominated as a judge by the president of the state Jakov Milatovic, is a candidate who, if elected, should replace a judge in the Constitutional Court Desanka Lopičić, whose mandate has expired. However, the Assembly extended it until the election of a new judge.
Candidate Milatović did not receive the required majority in the first round of voting, at the end of December, and according to unofficial information from "Vijesti", his chances of being elected in the second round are slim.
A qualified majority, i.e. the support of two-thirds of all deputies (at least 54 votes) is required for the election of a judge of the Constitutional Court in the first round. If this majority is not obtained, in the second round of voting, after 30 days, the judge can be elected by a three-fifths majority (at least 49 “hands”).
On December 31st last year, Krstonijević was supported by 25 MPs in the first round, while 20 abstained.
A source for "Vijesti" from the parliamentary majority said that today's extraordinary session of the Parliament, which was scheduled at Milatović's request, is only scheduled to adopt the agenda, and that the debate on Krstonijević will be held in a few days.
The President's Office told the editorial staff that they expect the MPs today to show that Montenegro's European path is not just an excuse when something needs to be completed quickly, but also an obligation when important decisions need to be made.
They also expect, as they added, that the MPs will finally show that responsibility to the state lasts longer than half an hour, recalling that last week the Parliament adopted 25 laws without debate or reading.
"Therefore, it is a legitimate question how it is possible that for more than a year, a decision cannot be made on the election of a judge of the Constitutional Court, an institution without which there is neither the rule of law nor European integration," they said.
They remind that since May 2025, the Parliament has refused to decide or not voted on the proposals of the President of the State for a judge of the Constitutional Court.
Proposal for selection Mirjana Vučinić It had not been on the agenda for months, which is why the president requested an extraordinary session. At that session, on September 15, 2025, the deputies did not even adopt the agenda, "showing that the problem is not in the candidate, but in the political will."
The President's Office also states that after that, the proposal did not receive the required two-thirds majority in the first round of voting on October 14, nor in the second round on November 25, 2025.
The same scenario was repeated, as they remind you, with Krstonijević, who was proposed by the president in December 2025, and who also did not receive the required majority in the first round.
"When everything is taken together, it is clear that we are not talking about individual decisions, but about the continuity of a political blockade that has lasted for almost a year, the consequences of which are borne by the Constitutional Court and the legal order of Montenegro," said Milatović's office.
In the first round of voting, Krstonijević was supported by the majority parties, including the New Serbian Democracy (NSD), the Democrats, the Socialist People's Party (SNP) and some of the Europe Now Movement (PES). The Bosniak Party (BS) abstained, as did a number of PES deputies.
The opposition did not participate in the vote.
Yesterday, PES and BS did not respond to questions from Vijesti about whether they would support Krstonijević in the second round of voting.
The Constitutional Court has six judges, out of the prescribed seven.
A new candidate coming soon
President Jakov Milatović will soon propose a candidate for judge of the Constitutional Court following a public announcement published on November 28th last year.
"After a detailed analysis of the professional biographies, integrity and professional references of the applied candidates, as well as the interviews conducted, the President will submit a proposal to the Parliament for the election of a judge of the Constitutional Court as soon as possible," Milatović's office said.
This is an advertisement that was published after Mirjana Vučinić did not receive the required majority of votes in parliament.
On December 24, the President established the list of candidates for the election of a judge of the Constitutional Court. Ten candidates responded to the advertisement: Nenad Đorđević, Nenad Vujanović, Milica Kovačević, Almir Muratović, Nataša Radonjić, Jelena Ružičić, Marija Bošković, Marko Blagojević, Ivan Adamović and Mirsad Mujević.
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