The parliamentary majority and the opposition are ready to implement the reform of the electoral legislation, it was announced at the conference "Perspectives and strategies for achieving the electoral reform in Montenegro", organized by the Center for Monitoring and Research (CeMI).
President of the Board of Directors of CeMI Zlatko Vujović said that for a long time certain recommendations of domestic and international organizations for improving the electoral process were not considered, but that now there is a greater degree of political will to adopt some changes.
"I have never seen such a degree of will to implement electoral reform," said Vujović, stating that this was not the case with the previous convocations of the parliament.
He assessed that both the authorities and the opposition are interested and ready to implement the electoral reform.
The British ambassador in Podgorica, Don McCann, said that the electoral reform is not only a matter of law, but that it is about transparency, inclusiveness and strengthening the foundations of democracy.
As she stated, stable election processes ensure that every voice in Montenegro is heard.
"Electoral reform is a key step towards reducing existing shortcomings that leave elections open to challenges, but also a step towards building trust in the electoral system," said McCann.
She said that the recommendation of the ODIHR and the findings of the CeMI study provide excellent recommendations for building trust in the electoral process and added that it is up to the Parliamentary Committee for Comprehensive Electoral Reform to make changes.
"I expect the Board to be a platform for dialogue between political parties and Montenegrin society," said McKen and welcomed the appointment of associate members of that working body from the civil sector and the academic community.
The President of the State Election Commission (SEC) Nikola Mugoša said that there is finally a political will to implement the electoral reform.
"Electoral reform has always been a victim of political processes that necessarily had nothing to do with elections or the electoral system. I believe that we finally have the right circumstances necessary for the realization of this important work", said Mugoša on the panel "Review of the process of electoral reform in Montenegro - how far have we come?".
He said that the central issue is related to the voter list.
"According to the data of the Administration for Statistics, Montenegro has 633 thousand inhabitants, of which 90 thousand are foreigners, and 95 thousand are minors who do not have the right to vote. Over 540 people are registered in the voter list, and when you look at that data, it is clear what state the voter list is in," said Mugoša.
He said that this will be the most complex task to solve, while all other issues are at the level of political will and administration.
"It is a problem that we cannot treat in an administrative way. It cannot be finished in a short period of time", stated Mugoša.
He said that he is in favor of the professionalization and depoliticization of the SEC.
"It is encouraging that the two largest political subjects, the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and the Europe Now Movement, are advocating for a professionalized SEC. We will see what it will ultimately result in," Mugoša said.
Member of the URA Civic Movement Ana Novaković Đurović assessed that the members of the Committee from both the government and the opposition show the political will to implement electoral reform.
She said that the task of the new generation of politicians and this parliamentary convocation is to do everything in order to achieve two goals around which there is a consensus - joining Montenegro to the European Union (EU) and reforming the electoral legislation.
"I think we are responsible enough, in relation to the previous Boards that resulted in the cessation of work, to show that this time there is a much bigger and more serious intention to finish that process," Novaković Đurović added.
She said that it is important that the associated members of the Board were chosen from NGOs and the academic community.
"This encourages me that, in addition to political will, we now have additional knowledge in the Board. When we have that, we must not look for excuses not to respond to this task," stated Novaković Đurović.
She pointed out that the opposition is very responsible in this process.
Novaković Đurović said that she believes that changes to some laws on which there is already a consensus, such as when it comes to holding elections in one day, will be quite simple, and added that the most complex issue is the voter list.
She said that she agrees with the proposal to professionalize the SEC and added that, when amending the law, the competences of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption should also be carefully considered.
Novaković Đurović said that she expects a lack of consensus on the issue of open lists, but that she expects there to be agreement on the increase of quotas for women.
DPS deputy and co-president of the Committee Nikola Rakočević said that there are huge differences between the government and the opposition, but that he is optimistic about reaching an agreement regarding the electoral reform.
"The committee does not serve to overcome political differences between the government and the opposition, to erase ideological differences, but it is an important indicator of how ready political parties in Montenegro are to cooperate for the sake of the public interest, regardless of differences," said Rakočević.
He said that the focus of the Committee will be the electoral roll, financing of political entities and election campaigns, and the media environment.
"If we find a consensus in the Committee, the opposition will propose an amendment to the Decision on the establishment of the Committee in order to extend the powers to some other laws concerning the electoral process - the law on the media, the Law on the President, the Law on Criminal Procedure," stated Rakočević. .
He said that he believes that the Board will eventually produce good results.
"If electoral legislation is one of the most important steps on our European path, then we have to make an agreement," Rakočević pointed out.
He added that it would be better to hurry up the process due to, as he said, the announcement that the current government, and therefore the parliament, will not last much longer.
"It is vitally important that the opposition wants to contribute and cooperate. I believe that now there is an absolute readiness of the entire opposition", said Rakočević.
He said that he is worried that part of the parliamentary majority will find a way to block Montenegro's path to the EU.
"If it is true that in the political environment we have those on whom the Serbian authorities have a strong influence, then it is to be expected that there may be obstructions from some part of the government. Regardless, we have enough political subjects who are on the European platform and who, in accordance with the recommendations of the EU and other relevant organizations, will reform the electoral legislation," said Rakočeivić.
Vujović, who is also an associate member of the Board, said that he was pleased that there is an increasing willingness to support the model of an independent and professional State Election Commission.
"SEC should not be a political forum. The SEC should be politically neutral and make decisions in accordance with the law and regulations," Vujović said.
He said that he is in favor of open lists, but that it will not be easy to reach an agreement on this, even though many parties, which are now in power, have previously insisted on such lists in their programs.
Vujović added that CeMI advocates for the increase of quotas for women and added that one of their recommendations will be to find a solution so that a two-thirds majority is not required for the adoption of some laws.
Speaking about the situation in Savnik, where the election process has not yet been completed, Mugoša said that it should be one of the first topics in the work of the Committee for Electoral Reform because it burdens the election system as a whole.
"Savnik is a precedent that I hope will not have far-reaching consequences, but it can be misused for all future election processes," Mugoša said.
He reminded that the SEC does not have a legal mechanism to take over the competence of the Municipal Election Commission and added that the solution to the situation in Šavnik has become a matter of political agreement.
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