The legitimacy of the Ulcinj parliament could be called into question if it is determined that in last year's local elections, fewer councilors were elected than the law mandates.
This is what the lawyer from Ulcinj told "Vijesti". Gzim Hadjibeti, commenting on the letter from the Prime Minister's Office Milojko Spajić submitted to the Municipality of Ulcinj, requesting to determine whether the local parliament should have 33 or 34 councilors, i.e. whether their current number - 33, is aligned with the number of voters on the day local elections are announced.
Hadžibeti states that the provisions of the Law on the Election of Councilors and Members of Parliament are unambiguous and clear - Article 3 of that act stipulates that 30 councilors are elected to local parliaments and one councilor for every 5.000 voters, and that the number of councilors is determined by the municipal assembly (SO) by special decision. no later than the day the election is announced.
"For the local elections in the municipality of Ulcinj, which were held on March 27, 2022, 20.392 voters were registered in the voter's list, so that on that day the citizens should have elected 34 councilors in the assembly, not 33. It is obvious that the Ulcinj Municipal Council failed to comply with his legal obligations and determine the number of councilors in accordance with the number of registered voters, which he should have done as early as 2020, and at the latest before the decision to call elections in 2022. Such practice has apparently continued today, because as far as I know, that the decision has not been made yet," said Hadžibeti.
The interlocutor reminds that 2018 voters had the right to vote in the local elections in February 19.869, and 19.962 voters in the presidential elections two months later.
"So, at that moment, according to the number of registered voters, there was a proper number of councilors in SO Ulcinj, i.e. 33 of them were elected. However, since the parliamentary elections on August 30, 2020, when the number of registered voters was 20.381, the local assembly was obliged to make a new decision on the number of councilors in accordance with the above-mentioned legal provision, and also in accordance with Article 49 paragraph 3 of the Statute of the Municipality of Ulcinj, which stipulate that the number of councilors is determined by a special decision in accordance with the law", explains Hadžibeti.
He notes that the legal consequences of such (in)action are not the most precisely defined in the legislation.
"Although the Government of Montenegro could, through its mechanisms, question the legitimacy of the assembly elected in this way, given that one member less than the number prescribed by law was elected," claims Hadžibeti, without specifying how the executive power could do that.
The lawyer from Ulcinj says that he believes that in this case, as in numerous other cases, it is about the calculations of political subjects, who, depending on the assessment of political interests, consciously postpone the adoption of this and similar decisions, at the same time taking into account at least what their legal obligations are, and even less what are the interests and rights of citizens.
"However, they should be aware, and this especially applies to the responsible persons in the SO, that failure to perform tasks established by law, the Statute and the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly may be the reason for initiating the procedure for their dismissal in accordance with the provisions of Articles 46, 54, 104 and 105 of the Law on local self-government and Article 87 of the Statute of the Municipality of Ulcinj", underlined Hadžibeti.
The initiative to determine the regularity of last year's elections in terms of the number of councilors was launched this fall by a long-term political and NGO activist and former member of parliament. Muhamet Nika. He claims that according to the Law on the Election of Councilors and Members of Parliament, 34 and not 33 councilors should have been elected in the elections, because the number of voters increased by over five thousand.
Nika reminded that in the final report of SO Ulcinj on the March elections (document dated April 9, 2022), it is stated that there were 20.393 voters in that municipality.
"This means that for the elections in the Municipality of Ulcinj, 34 and not 33 councilors should be elected, as before, so the will of the voters has been denied by not making a new decision on the number of councilors", it is written in the letter that Nik sent to the President of Montenegro in mid-September Jakov Milatović. Nika stated that as an individual, as well as an NGO activist, he cares that battles, as a constitutional category, are held legally and regularly.
Nika told "Vijesta" yesterday that he will not give up and will go to the end.
"As soon as I receive an official answer from the president's office or the government, I will contact the EU Delegation in Podgorica and the OSCE." I will decide on further steps later, but I will not give up, he said.
President of the Municipality of Ulcinj Omer Bajraktari, told "Vijesti" that the letter from Spajić's cabinet is "a letter from the office for cooperation with citizens".
"They just forwarded us the letter from Nike. I wouldn't comment on that," said Bajraktari.
President of the Ulcinj School of Education Ardian Mavrić, did not respond to messages and calls from "Vijesti" regarding this topic.
The interlocutor of "Vijesti" from the Municipality of Ulcinj said last week that the local government is waiting for the results of the population census, after which it will take certain steps and determine according to the request of Spajić's cabinet.
"The previous government decided how many councilors the current convocation of the Council of Ministers should have. We will certainly behave responsibly, in order to remove any dilemma regarding the regularity of the past elections", he added.
He pointed out that even if it is determined that the SO should have more councilors, this will be valid for the next elections, and that he does not believe that special elections will be called before the regular elections that should be held in a little more than two years.
In his letter to Milatović, Nika assessed that the right to vote is protected by election commissions, as well as by the Constitutional Court and other competent courts. He added that by not making a decision on the number of councilors, the local administration "hybridly threw out five thousand voters who could change the distribution of forces in the local parliament".
In the letter he sent to Mavrić earlier regarding the same question, Nika reminded that the relevant ministry once pointed out the fact that the municipality, by increasing the number of voters from 15 to more than 20, was obliged to make a decision on the election of 34 councilors. He proposed to Mavrić that the SO elect another councilor, in order to restore the legitimacy of the SO.
"If you are not able to do that, inform the president of the state about everything, who, according to his powers, would cancel the local elections in Ulcinj and call for new ones," stressed Nika.
The government in Ulcinj is held by the coalition "For a new beginning" (Civil Movement URA, Democratic Party, Social Democrats, Social Democratic Party and Albanian Alternative) and Forca. Members of the Democratic Union of Albanians and the Democratic Party of Socialists are boycotting the work of the parliamentary sessions due to alleged illegalities during the election of the head of the SO.
According to the Law on the Election of Councilors and Members of Parliament (Article 15), in the event of the termination of the mandate of the local parliament before the end of the term for which it was elected, the head of state calls for elections on the following day from the day of its dissolution, i.e. the following day from the date of entry into force of the decision to shorten the mandate of the assembly .
Hadžibeti: The list has nothing to do with the number of councilors
Commenting on the message of the interlocutor of "Vijesti" from the Municipality of Ulcinj, that the administration will make a statement about the Government's request after the population census, Hadžibeti said that the census and the voter's list are different categories.
"The population census is not legally relevant for the number of councilors. The number of registered voters, i.e. the voter list maintained by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) is only relevant for that," Hadžibeti added.
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