Continued agony if conditions are not eased? How to form a Central Election Commission after four unsuccessful attempts

Not even half a year after the first call for the election of the president and members of the Central Election Commission (CEC) was published, the working body that is supposed to propose to the parliament a list of candidates to fill the CEC has not yet completed its work, as the fourth competition for it "failed" the day before yesterday. Interlocutors of "Vijesti" assessed that another unsuccessful advertisement seriously undermines public trust in the process of forming this important electoral body.

The statement of the Commission for the Implementation of the Election of the President and Members of the Central Election Commission, published the day before yesterday on the parliament's website, states that it has been determined that Boško Nenezić achieved 78 points and thus fulfilled the requirements for the election of the President of the CEC (60 points), but none of the candidates for members of that body exceeded the required threshold of 50 points.

However, this is not the first time that the competition has ended “ingloriously” because the candidates for members did not have the required number of points, as the previous attempt to elect members “failed” in the same way. The number of points required to pass the threshold is not prescribed by the Law on the Election of Councilors and Representatives, but was unanimously agreed upon by the members of the Commission, taking into account the criteria for the election of members prescribed by law.

A person who has the right to vote, at least a seventh level of education qualification in the field of legal sciences, and at least ten years of professional experience, of which at least five years of experience in the field of elections, electoral systems, political systems, the judiciary and human rights protection, may be elected as the president and member of the CEC. Also, members of the CEC may not be people who have been associated with parties in the recent past (five years) or have committed criminal offenses.

According to the amendments to the Law on the Election of Councilors and Representatives adopted last summer, the State Election Commission (SEC) is to be transformed into the CEC. The SEC has meanwhile fallen into a formal blockade, as the president of that body Nikola Mugoša became a judge of the Constitutional Court, so at this moment, in the event of early elections, there is no body in the state that could conduct the elections.

Criteria

A source familiar with the work of the Commission explained to "Vijesti" that the criteria are very strict, and that the problem is that the competition is mostly applied by people who have worked in the judiciary for decades, but do not meet the necessary criteria in the field of electoral processes.

The interlocutor explained that the goal is to "break the ice" by the end of July and compile a list of candidates that would be sent to the Administrative Board, and that the deadline for constituting the CEC is October, so that members of the municipal election commissions can be elected by the end of the year, and then these bodies can adequately prepare for the local elections scheduled for next June.

As for the criteria, the law stipulates that they are: additional education that exceeds the necessary conditions regulated by law, and that directly concerns the electoral system and electoral processes, experience in previous electoral processes, cooperation with relevant state bodies that have prepared, implemented laws or carried out other activities related to the electoral process...

Also, the criteria include achieving public recognition in the field of electoral processes, establishing cooperation with relevant international institutions and organizations dealing with electoral processes, lecturing or attending training courses related to electoral processes, publishing scientific papers, professional articles or publications related to electoral processes, knowledge of electoral laws and procedures, as well as the impression the candidate made during the interview with the Commission.

Đukanović: It was pointed out that the conditions were narrow

Docent at the University of Donja Gorica Nikoleta Djukanovic She told "Vijesti" that the fact that the fourth competition did not result in a candidate for the president and members of the CEC seriously undermines public trust in the election process of this important body. She stated that she is particularly concerned because this is an institution that has a key role in ensuring the integrity of electoral processes.

"After four unsuccessful attempts, the question is justified as to whether the problem is the unclear criteria, the way they are interpreted, or the lack of consistency in the Commission's work," she assessed.

Đukanović said that, in doing so, we should not ignore the fact that the legal provisions relating to the professional qualifications of candidates for the president and members of the CEC have long been the subject of criticism from the professional public, and that it has been repeatedly pointed out that the conditions prescribed by law are unnecessarily narrow and restrictive, which significantly narrows the circle of potential candidates.

"This was particularly highlighted during the process of amending electoral legislation in July last year, but these problems were not adequately addressed," the interviewee added.

She noted that such a development further raises the issue of the consistency of the criteria and their application, saying that, if it was announced after the second competition that certain candidates did not meet the criteria for president, but potentially did for members of the CEC, it is difficult to understand why the same candidates were later assessed as not being good enough for members, while at the same time it was determined that there was a candidate with a sufficient number of points for president.

"Such changes require a clear and detailed explanation in order to remove doubts about the arbitrariness of decision-making," Đukanović assessed.

"Vijesti" unofficially explained that Boško Nenezić, who had 78 points in the third and fourth competitions (more than the 60 required for president), had applied only for a member, but not for the president of the CEC, in the first two competitions.

The interviewee pointed out that it is additionally problematic that the law does not prescribe clear thresholds for the election of the president and members of the CEC, but rather leaves their determination to the Commission. According to her, this leaves room for different interpretations and potential uneven application of the criteria.

"The lack of information on the number of points scored by candidates for CEC members reduces the transparency of the process and denies the public the opportunity to independently assess the justification of the decisions made. When electing an institution of this importance, full transparency should be the standard, which includes publishing the evaluation methodology and individual results of all candidates," she said.

How the competitions "fell"

The first advertisement for filling the CEC position failed at the end of last year, when the Commission members unanimously decided that the only candidate for the CEC president at that time did not meet the legal criteria. The second competition “failed” at the end of February, when it was announced that no candidate had “sufficiently” met the criteria on the basis of which they could be nominated for president, and the third at the end of April, because none of the candidates for members had the required 50 points.

There were seven candidates on the list for the last unsuccessful call. The candidates for president and member of the CEC were Boško Nenezić (the only one who met the points threshold), Muhamed Đokaj i Amer Šukurica, and only for members Abid Djozovic, Alija Beganović i Boris Vukašinović.

The commission is composed of the Minister of Justice. Bojan Božović, from the largest party in power (Europe Now Movement), MP Nikola Rakočević, from the largest opposition party (Democratic Party of Socialists), judge Srđan Vujović, representative of the Association of Judges, assistant professor Rajka Djokovic, representative of the University of Montenegro, and executive director of the Center for Democratic Transition Dragan Koprivica, representative of the non-governmental sector.

Šukurica: My references are not adequately valued

Candidate for president and member of the CEC, lawyer Amer Šukurica, submitted to "Vijesti" a letter that he sent to the Commission for the Implementation of the Election of the President and Members of the CEC in mid-May, ahead of the hearing of candidates in the last competition.

In it, he stated that he was withdrawing his candidacy for president of that electoral body, but that he remained a candidate for a member, and that he believed that he possessed references that would qualify him to become a member of the CEC.

Šukurica stated that he believes that his professional references were not adequately valued in the evaluation process. He said that in the second process he was assessed with 33 points, and that he believes that there was a basis for his points balance to be higher, given that, according to him, he exceeds certain conditions many times over.

"In accordance with the established criteria, the scope and length of relevant professional experience had to be adequately evaluated," he added.

He proposed that the Commission announce the next competition only for members of the CEC, bearing in mind that the candidate for president has "already been proposed" (Boško Nenezić).

Note: The original version of the text stated that Sanida Kojić was a candidate for president and member of the Central Election Commission in the fourth public announcement. We apologize for the error.