BS Petnjica: Today's Municipal Assembly session exposed the true state of relations within local government, saved political commerce

Today's session of the Petnjica Municipal Assembly, which discussed the proposal to dismiss the Mayor of the Municipality, Samir Agović, clearly showed who is ready to protect the interests of citizens, and who puts personal and party interests above the will of the people, assessed the Municipal Board of the Bosniak Party (BS).

They pointed out that the initiative for dismissal did not come from the opposition, but was submitted by DPS councilor and vice president of the municipal assembly Anela Muratović, which, according to BS, best speaks to the depth of the political and institutional crisis in which the current government in Petnjica finds itself.

At the session earlier today, 13 councilors voted in favor of Agović's removal, 15 voted against, while one councilor abstained.

"We also want to point out the fact that the session was originally scheduled for 13 p.m., but was postponed to 16 p.m. without a clear and transparent explanation, for reasons known only to those who made such a decision. We believe that the citizens of Petnjica deserve to know why the session was postponed and what political agreements took place behind closed doors during that period," the Petnjica BS states.

Instead of a responsible attitude towards citizens and the serious accusations that were made during the debate, the BS says that they witnessed political calculations and attempts to preserve positions at all costs.

"The mayor managed to retain his position thanks to the abstention of opposition SNP councilor Zaim Ličina, as well as the absence of SD councilor Isljam Ćeman and independent councilor Aldin Muratović, who are also opposition councilors. The public has the right to know that it was their actions that were crucial for the outcome of the vote. During the session, serious accusations were made against the president of the least developed municipality in Montenegro, and an additional shadow was cast over the entire process by the behavior of the president of the municipal assembly, Mehmed Adrović, who, in our opinion, committed a gross violation of parliamentary procedures and the principle of equal treatment of councilors. Namely, the DPS councilor was allowed online participation and voting, while the same right was not granted to the Bosniak Party councilor. Such a selective interpretation of the rules represents a precedent and directly undermines trust in the legality of the work of the local parliament," the statement reads.

It is added that although the proposal did not receive the required majority, the Petnjica BS believes that today's session exposed the true state of relations within the government and showed that the current government has lost legitimacy because it no longer has the necessary support of 16 councilors and that it survives solely thanks to political trade and the interests of individuals, and not because of the support of citizens and the results of its work.

"The Bosniak Party Councilors' Club thanks all councilors who supported the initiative to remove the mayor and once again showed that the interests of the citizens of Petnjica are above all political calculations. The Bosniak Party will continue to act responsibly, principledly and in the interests of all citizens of Petnjica, insisting on transparency, legality and accountability in the work of local government," the statement concludes.