The government representatives did not vote today on a referendum on a fair price for water, but voted directly against the interests of the citizens, against the people who pay for them and who brought them to power. Instead of letting the citizens decide, they retained complete control over a decision that affects every bill and every pocket.
This was announced by Preokret councilor in the Danilovgrad Municipal Assembly, Vuk Iković.
"This move clearly showed that their party interests are more important than the will of the 1.760 citizens who signed the initiative, because if citizens do not ask when their bills and their standard of living are being touched - when will they ask? If we can no longer decide on water, what can we then? When the government does not want to vote in favor of the citizens, what remains is what they fear most - that the citizens themselves initiate an initiative to change the government. This was a historic opportunity for the first time in Montenegro to directly verify the government's decision through the vote of the citizens. Instead of facing the will of the citizens, the government chose to escape responsibility. In all of this, it is particularly indicative that the DPS councilors did not even show up at the session today - they avoided both the 'For' and 'Against' votes, fleeing from responsibility towards the citizens," Iković stated in a press release.
He recalled that the price of water increased by as much as 53% last year, although, as he added, citizens were without proper and accessible water for a large part of the summer. In 2025 alone, due to this increase, citizens and entrepreneurs paid around 370.000 euros more, and in return they received neither better service nor a more stable supply, said the Preokret councilor.
"Citizens first demanded that the decision be repealed - the government refused. After that, a referendum initiative was launched - they refused that too. But one thing is completely clear today: if it were not for this initiative and pressure from citizens, the price of water would not have been reduced by a cent as of January 2026. On the contrary, it is very likely that it would have been even higher. Citizens have achieved the only positive change in this whole story with their engagement. To make the absurdity even greater, today DOO 'Vodovod i kanalizacija' announced that the water is not drinkable and that citizens should boil water or buy bottled water as if citizens were paying the Waterworks for boiled water. So, our water becomes unsafe as soon as a little rain falls, and the government continues to avoid giving citizens the right to decide on the price of that same water," says Iković.
He said that every government must learn that the will of the citizens cannot be ignored.
"The more they try to circumvent such initiatives, the stronger the citizens' resistance will be - and the greater the political responsibility. I have been and remain with the citizens, no matter who is in power, and I will be with them until we fight for the basic right: that citizens decide about their water and their money," concluded the Preokret councilor.
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