The Board of Directors of the University of Montenegro (BOD of UCG) is expected to initiate the procedure for electing the rector for the term of office from 2027 to 2030 at today's meeting, "Vijesti" has learned unofficially.
According to the same information, the Board of Directors should also determine the deadlines for conducting election activities, announce a competition, and appoint the Election Commission today.
On the other hand, editorial sources from the Parliament of Montenegro claim that a letter has been sent to the University, the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation and the Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister for Education for a thematic session of the Education Committee, during which they would exchange arguments with MPs and some of the signatories regarding the initiative for direct elections for the rector of the state higher education institution.
The decision to hold the thematic session was made by MPs - members of the Committee on Education, Science, Culture and Sports last week, after a meeting with the signatories of the anonymous and, as it was announced at the time, spontaneous initiative of some UCG professors on direct elections for the rector.
President of the Education Committee Nikola Rovčanin yesterday, he told "Vijesti" that the date of the thematic session has not yet been set. He also said that the Committee sent letters to the University of Montenegro and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, informing them, among other things, about the initiative, the meeting held, the intention to schedule a thematic session, and also requested additional information.
"We expect answers, but also to agree on terms in the coming days, depending on the obligations of the representatives of the Government and the University of Montenegro," Rovčanin told the editorial office.
New rules
According to the new Statute of the University of Montenegro, harmonized with the new Law on Higher Education, the procedure for electing the Rector is initiated by the Board of Directors, no later than six months before the expiration of the current Rector's term of office. The Board of Directors also sets the deadlines for conducting the election. The competition is published in the Bulletin of the University of Montenegro and in a daily newspaper published in Montenegro, while applications are submitted to the University.
The Statute stipulates that the rector is elected on the basis of a public competition and the University's development program, and the candidate must be a full-time professor employed by the University of Montenegro. Unlike the previous solution, according to the new rules, the candidate for rector is proposed by the Senate, while the Board of Directors elects him. It was this change that the University of Montenegro, when adopting the new Statute in June of this year, marked as one of the most significant innovations.
The procedure is carried out by a three-member Election Commission, appointed by the Board of Directors from among the members of the Senate. The Commission checks the competition documents and rejects untimely and incomplete applications, and then submits a report on the candidates to the Senate - a list of those whose applications are complete and timely, their programs for the development of the institution...
The Statute stipulates that all candidates who have passed the selection committee's review are invited to the Senate session where the proposal for the rector is determined. They present the University's development programs to the senators, and have the opportunity to further explain their programs and answer senators' questions.
The Senate proposes candidates by secret ballot, with a maximum of one person being circled on the ballot. In order to be nominated for rector, a candidate must receive a majority of the votes of the total number of Senate members.
If no one receives the required majority in the first round, the two candidates with the most votes advance to the second round. If the required majority is not achieved in the second round either, the candidate with the most votes, or more than one if they have the same number of votes, advances to the third round.
If, in the third round, no candidate receives a majority of the votes of all senators, the Senate determines that the proposal for the election of the rector has not been established. This decision is sent to the Board of Directors, which then suspends the procedure and initiates a new one.
When a candidate receives the required majority of the Senate, his proposal, together with the UCG development program, the report of the Election Commission and the competition documentation, is submitted to the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors makes the final decision by secret ballot. The election requires a majority of votes from the total number of members of that body.
The Statute also provides for the possibility that the Board of Directors does not elect the candidate proposed by the Senate. In such a case, the procedure for electing the Rector must be repeated within a period not exceeding three months.
If the rector is not elected on time, the Board of Directors may appoint an acting rector. This must be a full-time professor employed at the University of Montenegro, and the position may be held for a maximum of six months, during which time he or she has all the rights and duties of the rector.
The term of office of the rector lasts three years, and the same person may be elected a maximum of two consecutive times.
Initiative and meeting in the Assembly
An initiative to change the method of electing the rector of the University of Montenegro emerged in early August. On August 3, "Vijesti" reported that some academic staff had signed an initiative to elect the rector directly, by vote of the academic community, instead of according to the model according to which the Senate proposes a candidate and the Board of Directors elects him.
This proposal arrived at the employees' official addresses from the anonymous email glaszaposlenih.ucg@proton.me, while the initiative was presented on the website iniciativa.me.
The initiative was addressed to the Parliament of Montenegro, the Speaker of Parliament, the Committee on Education, Science, Culture and Sports and all MPs, and it requested an amendment to the Law on Higher Education. It was proposed that employees in teaching and scientific positions, as well as representatives of associates and students, have the right to directly elect the rector. The authors argued that such a model would bring greater democracy, transparency, accountability and legitimacy to the rector.
The same website stated that it was supported by 70 members of the academic community from 18 faculties and one institute of the University of Montenegro. The website iniciativa.me was shut down shortly after that.
At the end of August, the Education Committee met with UCG professors who supported the initiative - Veselin Mićanović, Radovan Stojanović i Gojko Joksimović. They described the initiative before the deputies as “spontaneous” and argued that it was not related to an individual, a candidate or a single election cycle, but to the issue of the legitimacy of the University’s leadership. Their argument was that the current system concentrates decision-making in a small number of members of the Senate and the Board of Directors, while direct election, in their view, could increase competition and the legitimacy of the rector.
However, the meeting also raised questions about who is actually behind the initiative and why it is emerging now. DPS MP Zoja Bojanić Lalović She asked who the creator of the initiative was and where the data of the signatories was, as well as why such a model was not proposed during the long process of adopting the new Law on Higher Education. Joksimović claimed that there was no “organized group” behind the initiative and that the composition of the signatories showed that it was not politically or ideologically colored.
Rovčanin then specified that the meeting did not represent a formal consideration of the proposal and that the initiative itself had no direct legal effect...
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