Koprivica with Vag: The government is interested in talking about electoral reform as soon as possible

The Government of Montenegro is interested in the story of electoral reform starting as soon as possible, said the Deputy Prime Minister for the Political System, Justice and Anti-corruption, Momo Koprivica.

Koprivica, as announced by the Government, spoke today with the head of the OSCE Mission in Montenegro, Dominik Vag.

He said that Montenegro is grateful for the support and assistance that the OSCE Mission has provided to it from the beginning in terms of strengthening democratic institutions, the security sector and the rule of law, as well as in the improvement of electoral processes, ie the reform of electoral legislation.

"The new government is ready and willing to continue in that spirit and to bring the started processes to an end," said Koprivica.

He said that the first measure of the 44th Government was to postpone the census in order to meet the demands of the opposition regarding additional control mechanisms, which created a positive climate in society.

"The will of this Vada is to conduct a dialogue with the opposition regarding key issues in society, and one such issue is the reform of the electoral legislation," said Koprivica.

He added that the Government's goal is to completely resolve the current situation in the judiciary, from the election of the Supreme State Prosecutor in full capacity, through the election of the remaining three members of the Judicial Council, to the election of the seventh judge of the Constitutional Court.

The exit from the acting state, as he emphasized, is important for the legitimacy of decisions, the capacity to resolve accumulated cases, public trust and strategic planning within those institutions.

"Among the priorities are the reform of the judicial and anti-corruption legislation, as well as the strengthening of the security sector and authorities responsible for the rule of law. We are committed and I express maximum readiness for cooperation with the OSCE Mission", said Koprivica.

Vag, as stated, said that the OSCE Mission supports Montenegro in achieving its national priorities, in accordance with the principles and obligations of that organization.

She pointed out that the OSCE Mission supports the work of the State Election Commission (SEC) in strengthening its capacity to conduct elections.

Vag added that this cooperation gained importance in the last parliamentary elections.

"The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) assessed for the first time in its preliminary findings and conclusions that on election day, the process was effectively managed by the election administration, which is a notable result. ODIHR will soon publish its final reports and recommendations ", said Vag.

Koprivica said that the Government is interested in starting the story of electoral reform as soon as possible.

He said that the Government wants to make a step forward when it comes to reforms, that is, they want reforms based on respect for the expertise, opinions and consensus of the European Commission and without unilateral parliamentary initiatives.

"We believe that the reform of the legal regulation, along with the improvement of the technology that would be applied, could contribute to the additional improvement of the electoral process", said Koprivica.

The interlocutors agreed that solving the issue of spatial capacities of the Special State Prosecutor's Office is of essential importance.

Vag assessed that a sign of the government's political will would be an increase in the budget for judicial and police bodies involved in the fight against organized crime.