So far, the State Prosecution Office has rejected 14 complaints submitted by the Network for Affirmation of Non-Governmental Sector (MANS) for buying votes and other violations during the parliamentary elections held on 16 October. Prosecutors, as evident from the decisions on rejecting the complaints, have found that in none of these cases there have been grounds for suspicion that criminal offences were committed. On the election day solely, MANS filed 117 complaints pertaining to violation of freedom of choice during the elections.
The basic state prosecutor from Podgorica, Miroslav Turkovic, despatched to the Special State Prosecutor’s Office, rejected the complaint lodged by MANS against V.D. from the capital city for violating the freedom of choice.
According to the complaint the complainant, NGO MANS, received an anonymous call on 15 October 2016, that V.D. had been involved in buying ID cards from citizens thus influencing their freedom of choice in exercising the voting right. In order to check factual allegations of the complaint, MANS obtained the information from V.D., via the Police Administration, Criminal Police Department – a special police unit, as well as the statement on the results of the check of the alleged facts in the complaint, which was conducted by the Police – the decision states.
It states that V.D. denied the allegations of the complaint, pointing out that they were not true and that the only activity she undertook during the elections was voting. The prosecutor says that the police’s findings do not indicate that the person in question has been involved in any activities stated in the complaint.
The same prosecutor rejected a complaint against the official of the Capital G.J., which had been lodged by MANS for violation of the freedom of choice in voting and the criminal offence of misappropriation. The complaint states that G.J. was calling on the employees to talk and pressed them to vote for DPS, and there is a suspicion that he was buying votes for the party. The complaint also states that G.J. used an official vehicle to stick the DPS election posters.
According to the information gathered from G.J. it appears that he is a member of the DPS, and that he carried out all conversations with the employees in order to increase work efficiency, and has never tried to impose his political views to others – the decision on rejection of the complaint says.
The prosecutor concludes that there is no evidence that G.J. committed the alleged crimes, which is the reason he decided to reject the complaint.
Based on the prosecutor Turkovic’s decision the complaint against M.P. and M.K. have also been rejected. In MANS’s complaint it is claimed that they visited homes of the citizens in the village Ponari in Zeta, requesting from them to vote for DPS. The complaint states that the abovementioned persons gave the instructions to the citizens who vote by post – to use the “square” as the mark when voting for DPS, promising an award of €100.
Using the same reasoning as in the previous cases, the prosecutor states that in accordance with the gathered information from the persons against whom the complaints have been lodged as well as the police, there are no grounds for suspicion that they have committed the said or any other criminal offences for which they could be prosecuted ex officio.
On the basis of the decision of the same prosecutor, the complaint against S.R. from Podgorica has been rejected, which was filed due to the suspicion that she was buying ID cards in the place called Masline for the needs of the DPS.
According to the information collected from S.R. it turns out that she is a board member of the municipal district Masline, that she does not impose her political views on others nor is it true that she purchased ID cards in favor of the DPS – the reasoning said.
MANS lodged a complaint against I.Z. from Podgorica, also because of the purchase of ID cards for the DPS, but Turkovic also rejected it with a similar explanation based on the statement of the person against whom the complaint was lodged and the police’s findings.
A complaint against B.I. from Podgorica was also dismissed, again related to the purchase of ID cards. The reasoning points out that the B.I. said that he is a member of the DPS but never bought identity cards.
MANS has previously called for a special prosecutor Milivoje Katnic to inform citizens about the steps undertaken in relation to MANS complaints, but this institution, apart from mere statistics, has not provided any specific piece of information to the public.
So far, the responses from the Special Prosecutor’s Office, unfortunately, have been confirming MANS’s doubts about the capacity and political will of this institution to effectively fight political corruption, said Dejan Milovac, director of MANS Investigation Center.
Apart from the statements taken from the individuals who have been suspected of criminal activities, the Prosecution has not shown that it took other actions in order to shed light on these cases. To reject a complaint solely on the basis of a defendant’s statement is unprofessional and frivolous, but above all, it reveals the intention of the prosecutor’s office to dispose of the complaints filed by MANS on the election day as soon as possible – adds Milovac.
According to the data submitted by MANS, only 14 out of the total of 117 complaints have been processed.
Most of these complaints had to be processed on the election day. The flow of time certainly does not contribute to bringing them successfully to an end, nor to adequately punishing all those who blackmailed, pressurized or intimidated on the election day. The last elections have shown that Montenegrin prosecution, in particular the Special State Prosecutor’s Office, has no capacity nor courage to protect the citizens from those who are trying to steal their votes and prevent the citizens from exercising their free will in elections – Milovac said.
As he concluded, no single action that the prosecution has taken so far promotes our country as a society that will prevent powerful individuals from determining the outcome of elections and influence the free will of citizens.
V.R.
Different cities different prosecutors, same reasoning
The State Prosecutor Maja Scepanovic rejected MANS’s complaints against anonymous persons on suspicion that they had committed criminal offenses against the freedom of choice in voting.
I inform you that the prosecutor, after conducting evidentiary actions, considered that there is no reasonable suspicion that the person in question has committed the criminal offense which is prosecuted ex officio. If you believe otherwise, you may file complaints against a certain person – the letter delivered to MANS said.
A prosecutor in the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Niksic, dispatched to the Special State Prosecutor’s Office, Dejan Djorojevic, dismissed two complaints against unknown persons for the same criminal offense, with almost the same reasoning.
The same decision was made by Risto Stijovic from the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Herceg Novi, who dismissed a complaint against the members of the electoral committee at the polling station no. 48 in that city, filed on the grounds of suspicion of having committed the criminal offense of violating the right to vote. He rejected the complaint against anonymous persons for associating for the purpose of committing the criminal act of violation of freedom of choice in voting.
The prosecutor Katarina Kljajevic rejected a complaint lodged by MANS against D.P., judging that there was no reasonable suspicion that he had committed any of the criminal offenses against electoral rights.
This text is created with the support of the European Union and the US 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 European Union.
