MANS today requested from the Parliamentary Committee on Anti-Corruption to urgently organize a special session of that working body and to hear Acting Supreme State Prosecutor Veselin Vuckovic and Director of Police Slavko Stojanovic about connections with activities of the prosecution and police in detecting frequent cases of purchase of ID cards on behalf of the party in power.
With the application which MANS filed today to the Committee, it was pointed to the fact that non-governmental organizations and the media discover and document an increasing number of cases of purchase ID cards, which is carried out in an organized way from people who claim that they buy ID cards in behalf of the party in power, all in order to prevent voters to vote, those who do not support the ruling coalition.
Purchase of ID cards is especially intensified right before upcoming local elections in 12 municipalities in Montenegro, and there is a reasonable concern that it will, before these elections, a large number of citizens be without voting right, actually systematically will be violated their constitutionally and legally guaranteed right to free choice if the purchase of ID cards continues in the field.
In a few audio recordings, published in the previous period, buyers of ID cards openly speak about it, the way they buy ID cards, prices they offer for that, the system for checking voters before money for ID card is paid off, and the possible consequences if the voter, who sold the ID card, still votes using some other document.
At the same time, instead of the prosecution and the police investigate cases of vote buying, all the procedures that they have carried out so far have been exclusively focused on revealing the identity of persons who discovered purchase of ID cards, recording the conversation and using some other method.
Especially problematic is the case of a recording published by MANS, on which some Predrag Vasovic claims that he buys ID cards for the party in power and explains how whole system functions, and notes that he has police protection. Vasovic, in recorded conversation, emphasizes that those who sell ID cards should not fear from the police but the media, because the purchase of ID cards can reach the public, and states that he is aware that the purchase of ID cards is a criminal offense.
Instead the police and prosecution investigated Vasovic, questioned that person and from him obtained information about who are the organizers, financiers, and masterminds of obviously organized vote buying, a complete focus of these entities was on MANS and on discovering of information who recorded and released an audio recording of Vasovic in which he arranged purchase of ID cards.
Having in mind that the prosecution and police obviously placed themselves
on the side of those who buy ID cards and that they on every way try to protect those people from prosecution, we suggested to the Committee on Anti-Corruption to question Vuckovic and Stojanovic and that from them obtain all relevant information on cases taht have been tried so far. To the Committee we pointed that it is necessary to obtain all information, especially about who are the organizers, financiers, and masterminds of purchase ID cards on behalf of the ruling party, and also about information about the source and origin of the money used for the purchase.
MANS as well with the application asked from the Committee on Anti-Corruption to commit Vuckovic and Stojanovic to immediately prosecute all individuals who are involved in purchase of ID cards, because only in that way can be stopped a serious criminal conduct and violations of citizens’ rights to free choice, and secured sufficient degree of citizens trust in the electoral process.
Please find enclosed the application filed today to the Committee on Anticorruption Parliament of Montenegro.
MANS
