(Podgorica, 11 April 2013) – Today MANS filed charges against several Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) officials with the Supreme State Prosecutor, Veselin Vuckovic. These include charges against ministers and key officials in a number of government agencies and institutions, as well as several MPs and local party functionaries. The charges concern the alleged abuse of their position and the illegal use of state resources in order to influence the political will of the citizenry, including the eventual results of the election process.
Criminal charges were filed against a total of 22 individuals, including: the current Prime Minister of Montenegro and DPS President, Milo Djukanovic; the former political director of the DPS and the current Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism, Branimir Gvozdenovic; the former Minister of Agriculture and the current political director of the DPS, Tarzan Milosevic; DPS MPs in the Assembly of Montenegro, Jovan Martinovic, Zoran Jelic, Zoran Vukcevic, Zoran Srzentic, Radivoje Nikcevic and Husnija Sabovic; the director of the Employment Bureau of Montenegor, Vukica Jelic; the state secretary of the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, Daliborka Pejovic; member of the Main Committee and President of the DPS Municipal Committee in Herceg Novi, Zoran Bosnjak; the President of the DPS Municipal Committee and the Secretary for the Budget and Finances of Tivat Municipality, Ivan Novosel; the President of the DPS Municipal Committee in Berane, Budimir Dabetic; the President of Savnik Municipality, Mijomir Vujacic; the President of Mojkovac Municipality, Dejan Medojevic; the PResident of the DPS Municipal Committee and the President of the Budva Municipal Assembly, Boro Lazovic; the president of the DPS Municipal Committee and Vice-President of the Bijelo Polje Municipality, Abaz Kujovic; the President of the DPS Municipal Committee and the President of the Danilovgrad Municipal Assembly, Miodrag Djurovic; the president of the DPS Municipal Committee for Zabljak, Milorad Zarubica; the deputy mayor of the Capital City Podgorica and member of the DPS Municipal Committee in Podgorica, Vladan Vucelic; as well as the president of the DPS Municipal Committee for Ulcinj, Ljor Nrekic.
Criminal charges against these individuals were filed on the basis of the recordings taken from the sessions of the DPS’s Central Committee, as well as numerous additional pieces of evidence that the MANS’ research team has gathered documenting allegations that the above individuals used their position and state resources for the political promotion of their party and the purchasing of support in the field in the lead-up to the recent presidential elections.
All of these individuals are being charged with abuse of public office under Article 416 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, as well as for numerous other offences related to the violation of equal treatment, the violation of freedom of orientation, and violations of rights stemming from labor and employment, etc.
In this way, Milo Djukanovic is accused of abusing public office to incite other persons to undertake hiring/recruitment on the basis of political affiliation, while also participating in such activities himself. Djukanovic is also accused of demanding that DPS voters be given priority in the replacement of personal documents, essential for gaining the right to vote, which is a criminal offence in that it violates the equal and universal application of the law to all citizens, as stipulated in the Criminal Code. As the DPS President, Djukanovic all shares responsibility with all of the accused since he was in a position to warn them against abuses of the law and to prevent such abuses from occurring, which he failed to do. To the contrary, the majority of the accused forwarded to him reports on their activities, which in Montenegro’s Criminal Code could be qualified as criminal acts.
Besides Djukanovic, the charges are also being pressed against Branimir Gvozdenovic, who is accused of pressuring the directors of public enterprises to hire DPS members and thereby secure guaranteed votes. He is also accused of making suggestions on how best to “organized” to benefit his party.
The former Minister of Agriculture, Tarzan Milosevic, is accused of abusing public office by organizing the DPS campaign on-the-ground by promising the payment of funds from the budget, as well as international assistance, while presenting these sums as a pre-election promise.
DPS MP in the Assembly of Montenegro, Jovan Martinovic, is accused of distributing one-time monetary assistance to citizens of the Ceremonial Capital of Cetinje, in order to secure votes for the elections. Representatives Zoran Jelic and Zoran Vukcevic are accused of exercising pressure and undertaking activities in order to ensure that citizens who support or are members of the DPS are given priority during hiring. This is also the charge against the director of the Employment Bureau, Vukica Jelic. MP Zoran Srzentic is accused of participating in actions that resulted in the exclusive hiring of DPS cadres and the securing of internships only for party loyalists, while his colleague Radivoje Nikcevic is accused that he participated, along with others, in the illegal composition of lists concerning the political orientation of those employed in the Niksic Steelworks. He is also charged with the formation of a trade-union composed of party-loyalists in that trade union with the aim of eliminating the existing union.
The accusations against Daliborka Pejovic are based on suspicion that she abused public office by influencing changes to the Electoral List, as well as misusing data concerning employees of public enterprises in Herceg Novi, in order to analyze the participation of these individuals and the extent to which the ruling DPS receives support from individual state enterprises.
Zoran Bosnjak is accused of participating in the mobilization of those employed in Herceg Novi’s state enterprises to support his party, while his colleague Ivan Novosel in Tivat is accused of participating in the oversight of state enterprises and the public administration to only hire DPS members.
The President of Savnik Municipality, Mijomir Vujacic, is accused of gathering information on DPS members in that municipality in order to prioritize the payment of weather related damages to these individuals. His colleague from Mojkovac, Dejan Medovic, is accused of the same. Their party colleague from Berane, Budimir Dabetic, is accused of ensuring the selective disbursement of compensation payments from the Labor Fund, favouring DPS voters. Abaz Kujovic is accused of inciting others to abuse their positions in order to secure material assistance for DPS voters in Bijelo Polje. A similar accusation has been levelled against the MP Husnija Sabovic, who besides being accused of the above also influenced others to abuse public office in order to ensure that as many potential DPS voters living abroad are able to vote.
As a result of abuses during employment, by favouring DPS cadres in such decisions, criminal charges were also filed against Miodrag Djurovic from the DPS in Danilovgrad, as well as his colleague Milorad Zarubica from Zabljak and Ljor Nrekic from Ulcinj. Due to the mobilization of secured votes from state enterprises in Budva, charges were also filed against Boro Lazovic, the most senior official in the DPS of Budva. Vladan Vucelic, the deputy mayor of Podgorica, is accused of inciting others to abuse public office in order to influence the DPS campaign.
We are calling on State Prosecutor Vuckovic to immediately open an investigation into the “Recording” affair, in order to demonstrate that his appointment will not simply be a continuation of the laws subordination to the ruling party/criminal structures in the country, as was the case with his predecessor Ranka Carapic.
MANS will continue to gather evidence exposing the manipulation of state resources for political ends, and to familiarize the public with examples that strongly confirm the presence of political corruption during the most recent elections in Montenegro.
