Members and officials of the Government, presidents and vice-presidents of municipalities, heads of state and local enterprises, directors of schools and student dormitories from the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) attended a meeting of the party's bodies in Podgorica on Friday (February 6), during working hours (from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.), and some of them came to the event in official cars.
The party headed by the speaker of parliament Andrija Mandic, held a joint session of party bodies in an expanded composition that day due to the recent exit from the state and Podgorica government of their long-time coalition partner - the Democratic People's Party (DNP) Milan Knežević.
The invitation to the meeting, signed by Mandić, stated that attendance at the event was mandatory.
After the rally, the NSD announced that their alliance with the DNP - the coalition "For the Future of Montenegro" - should be preserved, and that the NSD remains within the parliamentary majority and "a stable government".
Party meeting, state vehicles
The event organized at the "Serbian House" was attended, among others, by members of the Government Simonida Kordić (Minister of Tourism) and Budimir Aleksic (Vice President of the Executive Branch), State Secretary of the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property Bosko Vukicevic, State Secretaries at the Ministry of Tourism Vuk Žižić i Petar Draskovic, director of the Maritime Domain Mladen Mikijelj, Director of the State Property Administration Koča Đurišić, director of the Secondary Vocational School in Pljevlja Bojan Strunjaš, director of the Students' Home in Berane Goran Kikovic...
The meeting was also attended by the mayors of Nikšić and Mojkovac. Marko Kovacevic i Vesko Delic, Vice President of the Municipality of Herceg Novi Ivan Otovic, but also many heads of local companies from several municipalities - such as the director of Podgorica's Pute Radoš Zečević, Secretary of the Secretariat for Communal Affairs of the Capital City Andrija Babović, Acting Secretary, Secretariat for Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development of the Capital City Gavrilo Vuković, Acting Secretary of the Secretariat for Tourism of the Municipality of Berane Ivana Pantović...
The meeting of the NSD bodies was also attended by the presidents of the Board of Directors of the Electric Power Company of Montenegro (EPCG). Milutin Djukanovic, EPCG-Solar construction Marina Jocic, Montenegrin Electricity Market Operator (COTEE) Maksim Vucinic, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the Airport Nikola BajceticHowever, boards of directors do not have working hours, but rather hold meetings as needed, and therefore the presence of the aforementioned people at the NSD meeting is not in dispute.
According to information from "Vijesti", official vehicles were seen near the "Srpska kuća", but also in front of a restaurant in the center of Podgorica where, after the meeting, a "party" lunch was organized. A "Skoda Octavia" car with the registration plates PG CGT68 was spotted in front of the "Srpska kuća", while the same model of the vehicle was seen near the restaurant in the center, with the plates MK CG001.
"Vijesti" asked the State Property Administration and its director Kočo Đurišić whether he was renting a "Skoda Octavia" with Podgorica markings, whether he came to the party meeting in an official car, and if so - whether he considered this to be a continuation of the practices that the NSD criticized while they were in opposition. The editorial team also asked the Municipality of Mojkovac and its first man Vesko Delić to explain who was renting the car with the registration number MK CG001, if the municipality was renting it for his (Delić's) needs - why he was spotted in Podgorica on the day of the party meeting, whether he used it to come to or go from that event, and why he was at the party meeting during working hours.
And days off for the party
The newspaper expects answers from the executive branch on how they view the fact that members of the Government and officials of its departments attend a party event during working hours, and whether they will take any action on the matter. Questions have also been sent to the Capital City and the municipalities of Nikšić, Mojkovac, Herceg Novi and Berane, as well as to the presidents of these local governments - how they view the fact that their employees attend a party rally during working hours. A statement is also expected from the Ministry of Education and Science, because the directors of the Secondary Vocational School in Pljevlja and the Students' Home in Berane were also at the event.
"Vijesti" also asked the NSD what message is sent by attending a party rally during working hours, and whether this is a practice that they have once criticized for political opponents.
Leader of Andrijevica Željko Ćulafić (Socialist People's Party) told "Vijesti" yesterday that the vice-president of that municipality Miodrag Čukić, who was at a gathering at the "Serbian House", on vacation.
From the Ministry of Internal Affairs, whose director of the Directorate for Protection and Rescue is Miodrag Bešović also attended the meeting, they said he was also on vacation.
On the other hand, Nikšić's first man, Marko Kovačević, said, after asking a journalist what his working hours were like in the newsroom, that he was at the party event "because of the event itself", without answering why he was there during working hours.
The Decision on the Organization and Work of the Municipality of Nikšić, published in the Official Gazette at the end of November last year, stipulates that the working hours of local government bodies are determined by the mayor in a special act. The website of the Municipality of Nikšić states that working hours are from 7 am to 3 pm.
Marić: The party above all else
Coordinator of the Center for Civil Liberties (CEGAS) Boris Marić, told "Vijesti" that there is one clear legal rule when it comes to political engagement.
"Party work, political engagement, in any form, whether in the campaign or outside the campaign - can only be done outside of working hours," he said.
The Law on Civil Servants and Employees (Article 72) stipulates that a civil servant or employee is obliged to respect working hours.
Marić stated that there are "various manifestations" of abuse of state function, recalling the dispute over the President of Montenegro. Jakov Milatović with the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK).
In early December 2024, ASK decided that Milatović did not violate the Law on Financing Entities and Political Campaigns because he was at a press conference for the "For a Better Podgorica" list (which participated in the Podgorica elections) during working hours, and about 20 days later, in another case, the institution found that the president violated that regulation when he recorded a video in the official premises - the president's office - during the Podgorica election campaign.
When asked whether state and local officials who attended the session of the NSD party bodies should be sanctioned, Marić replied that it depends on the capacity in which they attended the event.
"Adequate procedures should be applied to officials - from warnings to possible disciplinary action within the body itself... If it is an official, then it is a job for ASK. An official - in the sense of an individual obliged to submit an asset declaration, which falls under all the norms of the Law on the Prevention of Corruption. These are very simple legal forms...", said the interlocutor.
Asked what message superiors are sending if they do not react to such abuses, Marić replied - irresponsible.
"Public interest, state interest, national interest - these are secondary in nature. Party interest and political interest are primary in nature. And here, unfortunately, we have not made any progress," he concluded.
Some "paid" for running away from work with suspension
Mayor of Podgorica Sasa Mujovic recently initiated disciplinary proceedings and suspended Vladislav Dajković (Slobodna Crna Gora), head of the Citizens' Service, on suspicion of committing a serious breach of official duty.
The procedure was initiated due to suspicion that on December 31, 2025, during working hours, Dajković did not perform his official duties, that is, that he performed his official duty negligently and negligently, by attending a protest rally organized against the construction of a capital project of the Capital City of Podgorica - a wastewater treatment plant, at a location in the Zeta settlement of Botun.
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"Vijesti" expects answers from the Capital City and Mujović as to whether NSD officials will also be sanctioned for coming to a party rally during working hours.
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