Only two weeks before the parliamentary elections, the latest case which was reported to MANS Investigation Center reaffirms that the electoral roll is far from a complete one and that there is still a plenty of room for manipulation of votes.
Namely, within the campaign “Report Vote-Buying, Cleanse Electoral Roll”, which has been recently implemented by MANS, the case of the late Miladin Sarac from Podgorica was reported. According to the obituary submitted by his family, he died on 8 August 2001.
Although Sarac died in 2001, at the close of July this year, his family received an invitation from the Ministry of Interior in which Miladin was asked to come to the local unit of the Ministry of Interior for replacement i.e. issuance of a new ID card.
Following this, in mid-August this year, the family received another letter from the Ministry of Interior in which the deceased Miladin Sarac was informed that his data in the electoral roll of Montenegro were changed, and that the polling station was changed, as well. The notification specifies Miladin’s number on the electoral roll, his personal data, place of birth and residence, as well as the location of the polling station where he was registered to vote.
Access to the electoral roll for 2014 local elections in Podgorica showed that Sarac was registered on the electoral roll at the time, at the polling station (105-C) Public Pre-School Institution Ljubica Popovic, pedagogical unit “Palcica”. Also, having the access to the electoral roll that was in effect during the president election in 2013, we found that Sarac was also registered on the electoral roll, the same polling station. For the needs of the October parliamentary elections, the Ministry of Interior determined that Sarac can exercise his voting right at the polling station number 105-D.
The problem of deceased persons whose data are still in the electoral roll was typical during the previous elections, and opened a lot of room for speculation that such a situation is used to manipulate the electoral will of the citizens and the final results of the elections. While top officials continue to insist that the Montenegrin electoral roll is flawless, cases such as this show that during these elections there will be a plenty of room for abuse.
As only a few days remained to the closing of the electoral roll, the question is how the Ministry of Interior will ensure that the electoral roll is complete so as the conditions for fair and free elections are provided. In any case, MANS expects to investigate persons responsible for these failures in the electoral roll and have all those who have contributed to them adequately sanctioned.
Citizens to report election abuses
MANS’s campaign Izbori.se – “Report Vote-Buying, Cleanse Electoral Roll” has been launched in mid-September and is aimed at mobilizing citizens to report any electoral abuses they encounter, particularly vote-buying and the phenomenon of so-called phantom voters in the electoral roll. Citizens can file complaints via the phone 020 226 326, 069 446 094 and 067 262 724, e-mail mans@t-com.me, MANS’s websites www.mans.co.me, www.izbori.se and www.prijavikorupciju.me, and our Facebook page.
Dejan Milovac
(MANS Investigation Centre)
This text is created with the support of the European Union and the U.S. Embassy Podgorica. Network for Affirmation of Non-Governmental Sector – MANS is solely responsible for the contents of this article, and the views taken herein shall not in any case be considered as those of the donors.
