If the proposed amendments to the Law on Permanent and Temporary Residence Registers, which were submitted to parliament last week by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP), are adopted, the police will be able to influence who will have the right to vote, and space will be opened for other abuses, which could cause resistance to the implementation of the regulations and lead to numerous proceedings against the state before domestic and international courts.
This was assessed by the Center for Democratic Transition (CDT), commenting on the draft law that the Ministry of Interior's working group for voter register control sent to the parliamentary Committee on the Political System, Judiciary and Administration.
The document stipulates that Montenegrin citizens who plan to settle in another country, those who return from abroad to live in Montenegro, as well as those who plan to be outside of it for longer than three months - will have to report this to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The draft (Articles 5 and 6) prescribes verification of residence data through field checks by authorized police officers.
"... Verification is also possible in cases where not only the registration of residence has occurred, as well as a change of residence from one municipality to another - which has so far been prescribed as the only possibility of conducting field checks of the accuracy of the registered residence address - but also in cases of suspicion that data recorded in the existing records of the residence register has been changed, which provides the possibility of updating data in the residence register in a more comprehensive manner," it is written in the document that "Vijesti" had access to.
Reconsider the role of the police
The CDT states that the draft introduces a field check of the accuracy of the address, which is carried out by the police within 15 days, and that in the event that it is determined that someone does not live at their permanent address, a decision will be made to deregister them.
"However, the draft does not provide a procedure, or rather a way in which these checks would be carried out through clear procedures and envisaged control mechanisms, as recommended by the ODIHR (OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights). It is not clear why the (MoI) working group did not use the solutions that the MoI, in cooperation with relevant stakeholders, prepared during the 2021 electoral reform, which addressed these sensitive issues to a significantly higher degree," the CDT told the editorial staff.
They say that, instead, without specifying the procedure, clear protection of the rights of those being controlled, and the absence of a control mechanism in which all interested parties participate - this job is entrusted to the police at their discretion.
“This part of the draft directly contradicts the ODIHR recommendations, which state: 'In accordance with the principle of separation of powers, residence records should be maintained by an authority that is clearly separate from the police, while verification of data should, as a rule, be carried out by local authorities, not the police. It is therefore recommended to review the role of the police in verifying residence records (ODIHR Opinion on the laws of Montenegro governing voter registration, 2025)'”, states the CDT.
They emphasize that this "very sensitive part of the draft and the entire process of on-site verification of residence", contrary to ODIHR recommendations, left the police the right to indirectly determine who has the right to vote. Therefore, they assess that this solution is very risky from the point of view of possible political abuse of the process.
"If this legal solution comes into force and is acted upon, in addition to the fact that there will be resistance to this process and political tensions, a large number of proceedings against the state before domestic and international courts can be expected," the CDT states.
They state that, in this case, two things must be separated - one is misdemeanor sanctions for those who are not up to date, malicious, and who do not want to contribute to the creation of a more orderly system with their behavior and administrative (non)culture, which may be justified, and the other is the deprivation of voting rights without procedure and the necessary protection and control.
No need to check all residences
The CDT assesses that the draft to a certain extent corresponds to the ODIHR recommendation to establish a clear legal mechanism for field checks and systematic revision of the residence register and voter register, as it expands the possibility of control to previously registered residences, when there is suspicion that a change has occurred that the person did not report.
However, they point out that this only partially overcomes the limitations of the current legal solution (which applied almost exclusively to new applications and changes of residence).
"... Despite this step forward, the proposed solution is still fundamentally far from the systematic revision of residence and voter lists that international recommendations point to," the CDT claims.
They state that the draft regulates field checks "if there is suspicion", which would mean that suspicions should first be established for tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of people, and only then this action should be carried out.
"A systematic audit means that in a certain time interval, through established procedures and adequate protection of rights, all places of residence of citizens in Montenegro are checked, and in this way it is determined who and to what extent abused their voting rights. Checks only 'based on suspicions' will not solve the problem with the voter register and may be very susceptible to political abuse," the CDT believes.
They note that the fact that the Ministry of Interior did not clearly plan a systematic review in the draft is also supported by the fact that in the explanation of the document they state that it is not necessary to provide additional financial resources for the implementation of the law.
"A systematic audit of residence means an extensive, long, organizationally and financially demanding activity, and it is absolutely impossible to implement it without significant financial resources. Whoever individually carries out these controls will not be able to do it in a quality manner without financial resources," the CDT emphasizes.
They add that they have been advocating for the introduction of field checks of the residence register for years, but warn that the draft does not sufficiently elaborate on the key technical and substantive challenges of this process, especially in relation to citizens who temporarily or permanently reside abroad.
Difficult to match registers
The CDT states that the draft (in Article 1) introduces a legal basis for, if necessary, matching data with other official records, which they believe is one of the instruments for directing part of the field control, which must be comprehensive. This segment, they explain, could enable “easier prioritization of subjects of field control.”
"However, our experience in the work of the Council for the Control of the Voters' Register, which functioned in 2021 and was chaired by the then Deputy Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic", says that there are serious obstacles to matching data with other registers, or official records, because a large number of lengthy laws make this impossible. In the explanation of this draft, we did not come across a legal analysis of this potential problem, so it is not clear whether the Ministry of Interior is aware of this, potentially, major obstacle," the CDT said.
The NGO points out that the draft does not specify the situations and needs on the basis of which matching will take place. Therefore, they argue, it is necessary to specify in which cases and for what needs this legal provision would be used, without the possibility of its abuse.
"Here, it should be especially kept in mind that a significant number of those who did abuse their residence are not without 'traces of life' in Montenegro. Some, for example, used medical services that are significantly cheaper here than in the countries in which they live," the CDT added.
Therefore, they state, data matching can only be an auxiliary instrument for directing part of the field controls, which must be comprehensive "and entrust literally every citizen of Montenegro with the procedure we have already described."
"This is the only way to avoid discrimination and unequal treatment in this process," the analysis emphasized.
The CDT further states that the provision defining that anyone who has not applied for a "new" ID card or has never sent a request for an ID card will be removed from the residence register, and thus from the voter list, on the day the law enters into force - is directly contrary to ODIHR standards, and that it allows the law on residence to revoke the right to vote without the possibility of protection for the person who is the subject of the proceedings.
Quality solutions
The CDT assesses that the draft also contains quality solutions, which are in line with recommendations and international standards.
"Articles 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 (of the draft) in principle represent a good direction for resolving these challenges and problems related to the residence register and the voter list and represent a good basis for, with minor corrections, a step forward in this process," the CDT claims.
Article 2 of the draft prescribes the content of the records of the registers in which, among other things, harmonisation with the Law on Same-Sex Life Partnership is carried out, but also indicates the reason for residence abroad. Article 3 envisages an amendment to Article 10 of the existing law, by prescribing the methods of registering residence, registering changes of residence and address, as well as registering residence outside Montenegro for longer than 90 days, as well as registering return to Montenegro.
Article 4 contains one of the more important proposals, which refers to the amendment of Article 12 of the existing law, so that it now prescribes the deregistration of residence, or introduces the obligation to deregister for citizens who leave Montenegro, because the previous provision left it up to the citizens to decide whether to do so or not.
Article 7 prescribes the criteria for determining residence, and adds case-appropriate terms to align with the Law on Same-Sex Life Partnership.
Article 8 introduces the regulation of the registration of persons under the age of 18 who are born abroad, so that when these persons are registered in the birth registers, they are not simultaneously registered in the residence registers, but their residence is registered only when they settle in Montenegro, in the manner prescribed by the procedure for registering residence.
Ministry of Interior to say who is in the working group
The CDT called on the Ministry of Interior to announce which representatives of the Assembly participated in the working group for the control of the voter register (formed in 2025), recalling that civil society organizations, which have experience and knowledge related to the voter register, were not invited to participate in this process.
The CDT points out that the draft needs to be supplemented by standardizing the method of external control of the procedure for auditing the residence register.
"It is particularly important to keep in mind that in the passive voter registration system, such as that in Montenegro, the residence register is the basis for forming the voter register, which is why the revision of the residence register essentially also represents a revision of the voter register."
That is why, they note, such a procedure must be based on clearly defined rules, transparent procedures and the involvement of various social actors, in order to ensure public trust in its integrity and impartiality.
"This means that, in addition to representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, representatives of the government and the opposition, as well as civil society, must also have the opportunity to participate in the process, which is in line with international standards and practice."
The ODIHR, they note, has repeatedly insisted on this approach.
Do not change the law by overturning it.
The CDT emphasized that it is important to keep in mind that the draft should not be viewed solely as an attempt to better organize the state administratively, but that it must always be known that it actually regulates the voter list, thereby determining the political future of the country.
"In this sense, it would be very important to avoid voting on this and other drafts that were within the scope of the Committee for Comprehensive Electoral Reform - through a vote between the government and the opposition, as this would be a path to political instability that would not bring increased confidence in the electoral process," the CDT claims.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
