The government in Budva, led by the parties of the former Democratic Front, collapsed after only a year and a half. What they will surely be remembered for, apart from the fact that they are the shortest government that ever ruled Budva, is that they did not fulfill almost anything of what they promised when they won even half of the votes of the people of Budva.
The outgoing president of the Municipal Assembly himself confirmed that they were underpowered Nikola Jovanovic, who admitted the guilt of the political alliance that governed the city from the end of October 2022, when the Budva coalition in first place - Milo Božović - DF won 52 percent of the votes, an absolute majority in the local parliament, so out of a total of 33 council mandates, it had 18 .
Milo Bozovic he officially became the president of the Municipality on January 9 with the votes of the DF, URA, Democrats and SNP councilors. Political stability, i.e. the certainty that the local parliament will approve every project and decision with an overwhelming majority, gave Božović the opportunity to be remembered as one of the most successful leaders of the tourism metropolis.
He won the citizens' trust with an ambitiously presented investment plan of as many as 26 projects, which were supposed to revive Budva.
"I have always seen politics as a way to solve citizens' problems, not to produce them or create new ones. For me, a politician in the true sense of the word is one who is dedicated to the general interest and works for the benefit of the citizens and not for personal or exclusively party interests," said Božović at the time, when it was expected that he would immediately appoint his deputies and gather a team that would start implementing the project.
Because, as he said, "Budva must step forward, to start the path of development and progress, and the basis for that is the political stability we have achieved".
As a priority project, Božović then promoted the construction of the Municipal Hospital in the Dubovica settlement.
"The construction of a promenade from the Old Town to Bečići in the first phase, and later to Rafailovići, Sveti Stefan and Jaz, is a project that will improve the tourist offer of our city and increase the quality of life for all of us. The European Capital of Culture is our strategic development commitment and the concept of our future functioning as a local government and tourist destination. To that end, we are facing the construction of a cultural center as an umbrella institution of culture and a place for numerous manifestations and cultural events. The local administration that I will lead in the coming period will be dedicated to solving the problem of missing parking spaces through the construction of new parking lots and garages, but also to preserving the rarely remaining green areas. The space that has been permanently wasted in our city is difficult to recover, but we are obliged to do everything in our power to preserve the rarely remaining free green areas and to recover property that in various ways passed from state to private ownership", are just some of the the promises he made then.
Among the projects that were crucial for the citizens of Budva to decide to vote for him, Božović mentioned the smart city project and E-governance, which promote the fact that public administration must be a citizen's service always available to everyone.
In his "Budva 2026" program, Božović announced the relocation of the Municipality, the expansion of the central city park, the construction of the Stari grad - Rafailovići promenade, the completion of the decade-long construction of the promenade in Petrovac, all the way to Perazić dol. The program also includes the construction of a new kindergarten in Bečići. He announced aid programs for the establishment of companies specifically aimed at the development of rural and women's entrepreneurship. Obtaining the status of the European capital of culture for 2028 will enable, as stated in the program, the transformation of Budva and the strengthening of its cultural offer throughout the year.
Renovation of the open swimming area at Pizana near the Old Town is one of the promoted projects, as well as rehabilitation of the Grđevica river bed, in order to build a promenade and road. The programs for the development of the rural area Budva city fortress, Brajići sports and recreational center and picnic area, Budva green city, sports city, a good place to live for all citizens, Dubovica sports and health recreation center...
The Port of Budva was supposed to be given to the Municipality for management.
Of all the listed projects, nothing was realized. An international competition was held for the conceptual design of the future promenade, and the only major project implemented by this government is the reconstruction of the main thoroughfares in the city center, Mediteranska and Ulica 22. novembra, which was entrusted to the Podgorica company "Bemax".
With the arrest of Božović on April 13 last year, chaos practically ensued in the city, and the split in his coalition culminated in the shortening of his mandate.
Božović ruled from his prison cell all the time, and did not think of resigning.
Budva is followed by an election campaign and political turmoil, instead of a tidy city welcoming the season. Unfortunately, no plan for temporary facilities was adopted, so all catering terraces and stands on public areas are illegal. The Coordinating Body for the preparation of the season has not met either, and the first guests in the hotels will officially arrive at the end of this week. The city center has been dug up due to street reconstruction, and the end of the works is expected if everything goes according to plan in mid-June.
Milatović announced elections for May 26
The President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, has scheduled the elections in Budva for May 26.
Milatović wrote on the social network X that he scheduled the elections for the earliest possible date.
"In accordance with the constitutional and legal powers, I made the Decision on calling for elections for councilors in the Budva municipal council, which will be held on Sunday, May 26, 2024. I scheduled the elections at the earliest possible date, in order to avoid the negative impact of the new political moment on the economic dynamics in the municipality of Budva in the context of the summer tourist season. I invite all the participants of the election cycle to act responsibly and fairly in the upcoming election campaign," said Milatović.
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