If Prime Minister Dritan Abazović and six of his colleagues from the Government do not resign from their parliamentary positions by Monday, Montenegro will have a Prime Minister and ministers who sit in the parliamentary benches at the same time, which is prohibited by the Constitution.
With the constitutive session of the Assembly on July 27, a one-month deadline began for 18 deputies to decide whether they will continue to perform the public function they already perform or the parliamentary function. Those who do not resign from one of their positions by August 28 face a fine of 500 to XNUMX euros.
"MPs who are already performing a public function have an obligation to resign from one of the functions they perform within 30 days. Based on its legal powers, the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption will initiate proceedings against all MPs from the current convocation of the Assembly who do not their legal duty," said ASK.
In addition to Abazović, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Capital Investments Ervin Ibrahimović and his party colleague from the Bosniak Party, Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Admir Adrović, would also find themselves in a conflict of interest.
Members of URE, Minister of Ecology and Urbanism Ana Novaković - Đurović and Minister of Internal Affairs Filip Adžić also perform a double function. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture Vladimir Joković and Minister of Health Dragoslav Šćekić received parliamentary mandates from the SNP list.
In addition to them, seven mayors of municipalities and one president of the Municipal Assembly also perform parliamentary functions, as well as two directors in energy companies.
And while the ministers contacted by TV Vijesti did not answer the questions, some of the municipal officials said that they still haven't decided which function they will perform in the coming period, but they will definitely respect the legal deadline.
"I will make a statement within the legal deadline. As soon as I make a decision, the public will be informed," said Plav Municipality President Nihad Canović.
On the other hand, the first man of Tuzi, Nik Đeljošaj, claims that the position of deputy and president of the Municipality is not incompatible according to the Constitution. As he said, the Constitution clearly specified which functions are incompatible with ministerial, judicial and prosecutorial functions, but did not impose such a thing for local self-government.
"The law on the prevention of corruption in this part is in conflict with the Constitution, but of course the Constitution is above all other regulations. I will respect the Constitution of Montenegro and until further notice I will perform the function of deputy on a non-professional basis, i.e. volunteer, without compensation, about which I have already informed the general secretary of the Parliament of Montenegro", said Đeljošaj.
According to the knowledge of TV Vijesta, so far, out of 18 MPs who perform dual functions, only Vladislav Bojović from the coalition Za budućnost Montenegro has decided to perform the function of MP, so he resigned from the position of General Director of the Directorate for Payments in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management.
After the parliamentary elections in 2020, then Prime Minister Duško Marković and seven ministers of his government held two positions for two months, and the ASK determined that they were in a conflict of interest, but only after the new Government of Zdravko Krivokapić was voted in.
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