The opposition's initiative to shorten the mandate of the Podgorica parliament has been announced, as well as its potential proposal to dismiss the mayor of Podgorica Saša Mujović (Europe Now Movement) - could, paradoxically, due to the small chances of their success, result in the introduction of compulsory administration in the Capital City not occurring in the near future, or - that this would only happen when it would not be legally possible to call early (local) elections.
The Law on the Election of Councilors and Representatives, which was amended last summer, stipulates that early local elections cannot be called nine months before the general local elections, scheduled for June 13, 2027. This means that the last date for extraordinary voting is mid-September this year.
The conditions for early elections - if the mandate of the Capital City Assembly is not shortened and if Mujović is not removed - could be created if the councilors do not sit for more than half a year. Then the government would dissolve the parliament, introduce compulsory administration (a board of trustees), and a vote would have to be taken.
The last session of the City Assembly was held at the end of last year. In the meantime, two parties have left the Podgorica government - Slobodna Crna Gora Vladislav Dajković and Democratic People's Party (DNP) Milan Knežević - so, after one of them announced that she would not be attending the sessions, it is questionable whether there will be a quorum for the sessions if the opposition does not make it impossible.
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However, it is clear that, given the importance of the issue, there should be one if the announced opposition initiatives enter the procedure. In that case, the government would (if, as stated, these proposals do not have a majority) "buy" itself at least six months of "life" and practically make early elections impossible.
In order for the City Assembly to work and make decisions, at least 30 councilors must be present in its hall.
The Capital City Assembly has 59 members. The ruling majority, until the decision of Slobodna and DNP to withdraw from it, consisted of 31 representatives: the Europe Now-Democrats Movement alliance has 14 representatives, the parties of the former Democratic Front (of which DNP is a part) with smaller partners have 13 councilors, and the Movement for Podgorica, close to the head of state J.akov Milatović four.
With the withdrawal of Slobodna, which has one councilor, and then DNP, which has four, the ruling coalition "falls" to 26 representatives, and must seek the support of at least four from the opposition in order to "survive".
As "Vijesti" wrote, in the Podgorica parliament, some opposition parties could allegedly provide the "hands-on" for some of the government's proposals.
The government crisis in the capital, which culminated in the DNP's decision to leave Podgorica and state government, began over the issue of the construction of a wastewater treatment plant in the Zeta settlement of Botun - a project implemented by the city government, and opposed by Knežević's party.
The European Union is waiting for colleagues
The opposition European Alliance, which announced an initiative to shorten the mandate of the Podgorica parliament at the beginning of the week, told "Vijesti" yesterday that they had sent the proposal to all parliamentary groups for signature - first electronically, and then through the Parliament's service.
"We believe that the initiative will, within a reasonable period of time, which we have not defined, have a sufficient number of signatures to enter the procedure - two-thirds of the total number of councilors," a councilor of the European Union told the editorial office. Miloš Maskovic.
"Vijesti" announced on Thursday that, according to previous information, the European Union initiative will probably not receive the unanimous support of the entire opposition, and thus not a majority for a vote.
Head of the councilors' club of the opposition Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Andrija Klikovac, told the newspaper on Wednesday that they will consider potential initiatives to remove the mayor of Podgorica, Mujović, and the president of the capital city assembly at the party body meeting. Jelena Borovinić Bojović.
On February 7, the DNP announced that their councilors' club had no intention of participating in any way "with the DPS and its satellites" in the removal of Mujović and the shortening of the Assembly's mandate. They announced at the time that they would not participate in the further work of the Capital City Assembly and that they would not give legitimacy to the mayor who had "lost a councilor majority."
And Dajković announced a day later that the party did not want to overthrow the mayor of Podgorica with the DPS.
Mujović recently told "Vijesti", when asked how likely it was that compulsory administration would be introduced in Podgorica, that perhaps that scenario would be in his favor, but that he would like to have "regular parliamentary life at the level of the capital, with regular parliamentary sessions."
"It's a way to hear different ideas and confront arguments. It's a way for the best ideas to surface for the benefit of the citizens of Podgorica. Of course, we follow the law and if necessary, compulsory administration may be established," said Mujović.
DNP left the state government and the ruling coalition in Podgorica about ten days ago. This was preceded by the government's refusal to support their demands for resolving identity issues, namely the introduction of the Serbian language as an official language, amending the Law on Montenegrin Citizenship (introducing dual citizenship with Serbia), and standardizing the tricolor as the "national flag". In addition, DNP also demanded a dialogue on the construction of the collector in Botun, which they consider controversial.
Slobodna left power after Dajković was suspended for protesting in Botun during working hours.
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