Councilors found NGO statutes questionable

The Election and Appointments Committee of the Capital City Assembly yesterday established a list of candidates for members of the Radio and Television Council (RTV) Podgorica, consisting of Nataša Nelevic i Stojan Sjekloć, while candidacies Sava Chaufranca i Danilo Milić were not accepted because they did not meet the requirements of the competition.

A public call for two members of the local public broadcaster was published on April 16, and the authorized proposers were non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the field of human rights and freedoms protection, environment and consumer rights, as well as sports organizations.

Thus, according to the competition, a section of non-governmental organizations in the field of human rights and freedoms proposed three candidates: Nelević (12 proposers), Sjekloca (three proposers) and Šofranca (17 proposers). The choice of sports organizations was Milić, who was chosen by 11 proposers.

Councilor of the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) Mitar Susic Nelević said that he reviewed the documentation and noticed that the proposers did not take care to verify their identity.

"Some proposers do not have this candidate in their human rights statutes. For example, the Center for Investigative Journalism," said Šušić, adding that their activities do not include a segment for human rights, consumer protection, or the environment.

He also said that the situation is similar with the Center for NGO Development (CRNVO) and the Media Institute of Montenegro.

"These three nominees, in my opinion, cannot be for this category. They may be when we look for them in the media field. This would require, perhaps, a broader analysis of the others as well," he said.

Jovana Mijović, a Democratic councilor, said that "there are no basic conditions for Šofran's candidacy."

President of the Board Anđela Mićović (Europe Now Movement) stated that they “ignored the statutes of the proposers”.

"Such NGOs are actually in conflict with this category, that is, the activity from which a candidate for the RTV Podgorica council must come."

Councillor of the European Union Miloš Maskovic He said that the statutes are broad for interpretation, adding that in the next public call "they would have to define it more clearly and closely."

"We have to take a stand on what we consider a good qualification and what not. Believe me, we cannot rely on the free assessment of each of us individually," said the ES councilor.

He said that Šofranac and Sjekloća are "politically active", which, Mašković claims, is contrary to the rules for candidacy.

"... You can see that Mr. Šofranac is actually the head of the legal department of United Montenegro. Sjekloća was in several political parties... You can check publicly that he was in DPS, United and PES. We need to check that and know."

As "Vijesti" previously wrote, along with the proposal for the appointment of a member of the Council, it is necessary to submit proof that the proposed candidate is a Montenegrin citizen, as well as that he or she has permanent residence in Montenegro.

"Proof of the level of educational qualification of the proposed candidate. Proof of work experience, a statement by the proposed candidate about accepting the candidacy and that there are no obstacles from Article 2 of the public invitation for his appointment as a member of the Council. A proposal for the appointment of a member of the Council that is not in accordance with the previous paragraphs of this Article will not be considered."