Due to the violation of the code, a complaint about the work of the councilor was submitted to the Ethics Commission for elected representatives and officials in the local self-government of the Capital City of Podgorica. Milivoj Brković (United Montenegro).
The complaint was filed yesterday by an independent councilor and member of the Citizens' Initiative "21. may" Aleksandar Saša Zeković. As he told "Vijesta", he also informed the President of the Assembly of the Capital City, dr Jelena Borovinić Bojović (DF).
Borovinić Bojović told the newsroom yesterday that "the Assembly of the Capital City is not an educational institution", and that she "does not have the authority to act as an educator or implement disciplinary measures".
"And I personally don't even have such ambitions. The assembly consists of councilors - elected by citizens, and among them, in accordance with the basic principles of democracy, are people of different political, national and religious views. As the president of the city parliament, I have the mandate to represent the Assembly and preside over it. Neither I, as president, nor councilors, have a mandate to communicate political views on behalf of the entire Assembly. There are many examples from the period of the DPS autocracy when this was not respected, neither in the case of the city administration, nor in the case of the City Assembly, which is why not only the codes, but also the fundamental postulates of democracy were violated," she said.
She added that the code of conduct for councilors exists, and that "it is not good to see it as an ideological disciplinary stick" and that "its content should not be ignored, but respected".
"The Code, among other things, suggests that a councilor may not subordinate a citizen on the basis of religious, national or other affiliation. And that means that national, cultural and other differences guaranteed to citizens by the Constitution must be respected. I stand for raising the level of responsibility of all councilors, deputies and other public representatives of citizens, from all sides of the political spectrum, just as I stand for tolerance in society, so that differences are not perceived as fatal, but in accordance with what is written in the Constitution and international conventions on human rights", Borovinić Bojović told "Vijesta".
Zeković: Brković degraded the capital
In the complaint he submitted to the Ethics Commission, Zeković stated, among other things, that Brković's performance in fulfilling the obligation entrusted to him to attend the marriage ceremony was "inappropriate". He, as he said, emphasized in his official speech that he was acting and speaking on behalf of the Assembly of the Capital City, and "announced his political views, clearly presented the ideological platform from which he is acting and decided to affirm the big-state and nationalist ambitions".
"Brković did not respect the law and the priority of public interest over private, which is why he violated Article 4 of the Code of Ethics for elected representatives and officials in the local self-government of the Capital City," said Zeković.
According to the Family Law, the marriage is solemnized before the competent authority of the local government, in an official room suitably arranged for that purpose, and exceptionally, the registrar can allow the marriage to be solemnized in another suitable place, if the spouses request it and for that give valid reasons. The marriage ceremony is attended by both future spouses, a member of the municipal assembly whom she designates, two witnesses and the registrar.
"The current convocation of the Assembly of the Capital City made and repeatedly amended the decision on the appointment of councilors who attend the conclusion of the marriage, and fellow councilor Milivoje Brković is among them. "Brković abused the trust of the councilors who uniquely assigned him to, among others, attend marriages on the territory of the capital," Zeković states in the complaint.
On August 10, Brković published a comment and a video on the social platform X (formerly Twitter). In his comment, he states: "On behalf of the Assembly of the capital, as a councillor, a final letter of love for marrying the Chetnik family Vojvodić". In the video he published, he said: "Next year baptism, next year in Lovcen, next year in Prizren".
"In Podgorica, marriages should not be officially announced with any big-state and nationalist messages and ambitions, nor with the labeling of any family. With his unworthy performance, Brković also violated Article 5 of the Code, because at the given moment, he did not perform his councilor function and the entrusted public authority to attend the marriage ceremony on behalf of the Assembly of the Capital City conscientiously, responsibly and impartially and he showed a complete absence of reason, rationality and responsibility for his actions and behavior", stated Zeković and added that with his specific performance, "Brković did not contribute to the improvement of the work of the local brewery".
"On the contrary, he disturbed the public and degraded the Capital as a whole. The Ethics Commission is obliged to take care of the application and improvement of ethical standards, which is why, according to this petition, it is necessary to carry out a procedure to determine the violation of the Code of Ethics", states Zeković in the complaint.
He is of the opinion that with his concrete performance, Brković "disqualified himself from further attending, on behalf of the Assembly of the Capital City, marriages on the territory of Podgorica".
"I called on Borovinić Bojović to process this fact further, as well as to publicly reprimand him for his behavior, and resolutely and preventively call on all other councilors not to abuse the Assembly of the Capital City, as well as their colleagues, for the promotion of personal and party interests Zeković told "Vijesta".
According to him, "there are established and serious indicators that indicate that the Assembly of the Capital City can be developed and recognized as a successful, productive and inclusive parliament."
"Most councilors, as well as the leadership of the Assembly, have enormous energy, enthusiasm and commitment. Everyone should stop behaving like immature, mischievous, obstructionist and limited politicians... they should focus on the development of the capital city", he said and added that "the Assembly of the Capital City and the Capital City as a whole will begin to decline if national conflicts also transfer to the local level".
"That will primarily be the responsibility of the government, and only secondarily us from the opposition," he said.
He does not expect others to reject his presence
Councilor Andrija Klikovac (DPS) two days ago on the X network sent an invitation to the president of the Appointments Committee in the Assembly of the Capital City Vasilija Čarapić (Europe now) to schedule a session where it will be proposed to change the list of councilors attending the marriage ceremony.
On Monday, Brković told "Vijesta" that he married longtime friends in a disputed situation. He also said that he does not expect other couples to refuse his presence at the wedding because of this event.
"I don't expect anything from couples, on the contrary, I accepted this invitation solely because of my friends who are getting married. What is encouraging for dissenters is that there are other councilors, so they can choose for themselves. Democracy is at work," he said.
When asked by the editors if he would attend the registration of a life partnership of a person of the same sex, he said "of course I would not accept that type of registration".
"Because I have a conscientious objection. I am a councilor who inherits traditional and family values and will continue to do so in the future," he said.
Councilors, according to current regulations, are not yet present at the registration of same-sex unions.
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