Nobody wants to take the seats, DPS and boycott an option? Opposition without a common plan while the heads of certain committees are emptying

The Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) does not rule out the possibility of boycotting the Parliament and extra-parliamentary activities, after its representatives left leading positions in the working bodies of the legislative chamber due to the adoption of controversial regulations on internal affairs and the National Security Agency (ANB) by some in the public.

A source from the DPS told "Vijesti" yesterday, stating that the ruling majority, by voting on two laws last week and the "intentions behind them", did not leave them room for regular action.

"What we will do - remains to be seen. Everything is in circulation - both a boycott at some stage, and extra-parliamentary action. But, for now, this (the resignations of the committee heads) is the first step. We will monitor the situation and see what happens next," said the source.

In recent days, the DPS has officially stated that leaving leading positions in committees is "the first step of resistance," adding that they expect solidarity from the rest of the opposition.

However, these parties do not plan to act together with them for now. The Civic Movement (GP) URA and the Social Democrats (SD) told the editorial office that there had been no agreements with the DPS, and that they were not interested in taking over the seats previously held by representatives of the strongest opposition party.

DPS has so far resigned from the leadership of two committees - first, the chairman of the Committee for European Integration resigned on Monday Ivan Vukovic, and yesterday Jevto Erakovic, who was the head of the Anti-Corruption Committee. New departures have been announced for today.

Head of the parliamentary group GP URA Milos Konatar He told the newspaper that the opposition had not discussed leaving the committee together.

"As long as the opposition participates in the work of the plenary session of the Parliament, which is still the case, the GP URA will also participate in the work of the committees and thus use the opportunity to point out to citizens the wrong policy being implemented by the Government and the parliamentary majority," he said.

Kontar said that the GP URA will see how the processes in the Assembly will unfold, and react accordingly. He stressed that he fully understands the resignations of his colleagues from DPS, but noted that they are not interested in the positions they have left.

"I am sorry that we have come to this situation for which the parliamentary majority is solely to blame. In any case, the MPs of the GP URA have no intention of replacing their colleagues from the DPS in leadership positions in the Parliament, who belong to the opposition," he said.

SD unofficially told "Vijesti" that DPS has not coordinated its actions so far with them, so they will make a decision on how to act regardless of other circumstances. They stated that they do not have members on the committees for European integration and anti-corruption, so it is not realistic for them to take the seats vacated by DPS. They emphasize that they certainly would not "go that far" even if they had members.

From the Democratic People's Party (DNP) Milan Knežević, which until recently was part of the government, did not respond to the newspaper's questions about whether they would take up positions in the committees vacated by the DPS. A source from the DNP editorial office said that this was unlikely to happen. After leaving power, DNP representatives resigned from leading positions in parliamentary bodies - as head of the Committee for the Political System, Judiciary and Administration and as deputy chairman of the Inquiry Committee, which deals with cases of allegedly politically motivated murders and attacks on journalists and intellectuals.

The Assembly Rules of Procedure stipulate that at least three committee chairmen are elected from the opposition. In addition to Vuković and Eraković from the DPS, Boris Mugoša (SD) heads the Committee on Economy, Finance and Budget.

Given that Vuković and Eraković have resigned, at least two opposition members would have to become presidents of one of the permanent parliamentary bodies in order to comply with the Rules of Procedure.

The resignations of DPS leaders in committee positions were first announced by the party's president. Danijel Zivkovic on Friday evening in the Parliament, after the adoption of the controversial laws.

The adopted regulations were criticized, in addition to the opposition, by civil society and part of the government. According to these laws (i.e. their amendments), the ANB will no longer need the assistance of the police as an intermediary when collecting intelligence, and the service's secret collaborators will receive a significantly wider range of protection and rights.

The controversial solution in the Law on Internal Affairs allows for employment in the police without a public competition in certain situations. In addition, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is given greater authority to decide on "security obstacles" to work in the police.

DPS announced that the president of the Inquiry Committee will also resign. Andrija Nikolić, as well as the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Nikola Rakočević, who is also the co-chair of the Committee for Comprehensive Electoral Reform.

This body is important for fulfilling the recommendations from the so-called European agenda and the interim benchmarks in chapters 23 (judiciary and fundamental rights) and 24 (justice, freedom and security), which are considered key in the negotiations for entry into the European Union (EU). It is also important for “cleaning” the voter register in preparation for the parliamentary and local elections in 2027. The mandate of the committee, which was formed as a temporary parliamentary body, was set until the end of last year, and the parliament failed to make a decision on extending its work.

When the Parliament re-forms it, the absence of DPS representatives could paralyze its work, because until now this body has consisted of the same number of government and opposition MPs.

The Committee's task is to reform and amend electoral legislation, which includes the implementation of recommendations from the European Commission report and the OSCE/ODIHR mission report. The Committee's work has so far resulted in amendments to the Law on Financing Political Entities and Election Campaigns and the Law on the Election of Councilors and Representatives, which established the concept of holding local elections in one day - June 13, 2027.

The committee still needs to define draft laws on the voter list and registers of permanent and temporary residence, a draft law on the election of the President of Montenegro... Among the tasks of this body is the analysis of the implementation of the law on the identity card, on Montenegrin citizenship and on political parties, with the possible preparation of draft amendments to the law if they prove useful and necessary for the realization of the set goals.

Since the change of government in 2020, DPS has several times resorted to boycotting or partially withdrawing from the Parliament and its bodies, especially the Electoral Reform Committee (which the former opposition also used as a form of pressure on the government), dissatisfied with the adoption of some laws, the situation in Šavnik, where elections have been going on for almost three and a half years, and the retirement of a former Constitutional Court judge. Dragan Đuranović...

Eraković: They are turning Montenegro from a democracy into a police state

Jevto Eraković said at a press conference yesterday that the resignations are only the first step in the opposition of the DPS.

"And I hope for the opposition and all those who declaratively present themselves as being in favor of preserving a democratic and civic Montenegro," he said.

Eraković stated that the laws that have been passed "are turning Montenegro from a democratic state into a repressive and police state."

"We don't want to accept that and we want to send a message to citizens that something abnormal is happening," he added.

The DPS MP claims that the electoral process is unregulated, and that his party has contributed to regulating this area through the Committee for Comprehensive Reform, but that, at this point, it looks like the next elections will come with the existing legislation.

Eraković did not give a precise answer to the question of whether his party colleague Andrija Nikolić would resign as president of the Inquiry Committee before the scheduled (March 13) hearing of former DPS leader Milo Đukanović. He only said that Nikolić would resign, but did not say when.