"Vijesti" has learned that 11 candidates applied for the repeated competition for members of the Council of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK).
According to unofficial information, documents were also submitted by some candidates from the first competition - Miodrag Martinović, Milica Milutinović, Slavica Mirković, Mladen Tomović, Dragana Šuković.
Along with that public advertisement, the candidates for the Parliamentary Commission for conducting the election of Council members also go through the competition procedure.
"Vijesti" sources claim that this body will remain almost unchanged - the representatives of the Assembly are in that body Jevto Erakovic i Momcilo Leković, as a representative of the Judicial Council was again delegated Miodrag Ilicković, and the Prosecutor's Council - Miroslav Turković, while the civil sector will most likely represent Bojana Jokić from LGBT Forum Progres.
Nine candidates applied for the previous competition for the Council of the Agency, but the then Commission estimated that only three met the requirements.
The Parliamentary Anti-corruption Committee was provided with a list on which there was Tomović, who was voted for by all five members of the Commission, and Šuković, who received four votes.
In mid-May, the board decided not to propose those candidates to the plenum and decided to announce new competitions - for the Council and the Commission, which was opposed by the president, MP Jevto Eraković, saying that it was a "political and legal scandal". He warned the ruling majority at the time that "they are responsible for this, but they are the government, so they can do it at this moment".
According to the Law on Prevention of Corruption, the Commission should check whether the candidates meet the requirements, but also organize interviews with candidates whose documentation is in order.
"The commission... compiles a list of five candidates for the election of Council members, with an explanation. The commission compiles the list from paragraph 4 of this article, with a majority of at least four votes, within 60 days from the deadline for applying for the competition. The commission submits the list of candidates from paragraph 4 of this article to the competent committee, for the purpose of proposing them to the Assembly", the Law specifies.
If the competent committee - the Anti-corruption Committee does not propose a list of candidates to the Assembly, the procedure for electing Council members is repeated.
As of July 31, 2023, there is no one to control the work of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK) - the mandate of the former Council has expired. Almost seven months later, the procedure for electing new members is just beginning.
After the June parliamentary elections, the new convocation of the Parliament of Montenegro was constituted on July 27 last year, but the head of the parliament was elected only on October 31.
According to the Law on Prevention of Corruption, the ASK Council has a number of responsibilities - it elects and dismisses the Director of the Agency, adopts the Statute and act on the internal organization and systematization of workplaces, initiates the improvement of the work of the Agency, checks the data from the report on the income and assets of the Director of the Agency...
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