Today, 22 NGOs appealed to the Administrative Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro seeking to initiate the procedure for dismissal of the member of RTCG Council, Mimo Drašković.
The initiative was launched because of political activities of a member of the Council which is supposed to be a professional and depoliticized body. However, Mr. Drašković attended the convention of Milo Đukanović and publicly supported this presidential candidate from the first row.
Text of the initiative
PARLIAMENT OF MONTENEGRO
Administrative Committee
Luiđ Škrelja, President of the Committee
Podgorica, April 13, 2018
SUBJECT: Initiative to launch procedure for determining the conflict of interest of Mimo Drašković, member of the Council of Radio and Television of Montenegro (RTCG) – public official appointed by the Parliament of Montenegro
Publicly disclosed facts indicate that Mimo Drašković, member of RTCG Council, violated the provisions of the Law on Prevention of Corruption related to the prevention of conflict of interests in performing public functions and limitations in performing public functions.
Namely, on April 9, 2018, Mimo Drašković gave an active political support to presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Socialists, Milo Đukanović, at the rally held in Bijelo Polje.
EVIDENCE: Daily press reports from April 10 and 11, 2018
Provision of the Article 7, Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Law on Prevention of Corruption stipulates that public officials are required to exercise their function in such way that the public interest is not subordinated to the private interest, as well as that it does not cause a conflict of interest in the exercise of public function and that the conflict of interest in performing a public function exists when the private interest of a public official affects or may affect the impartiality of a public official in performing a public function. Article 28, Paragraph 1 of the same law stipulates that a public official is obliged, when suspecting that there is a conflict of interest or limitation in performing public function, to take measures in order to resolve the conflict of interests or respect limitations in accordance with the law, as well as to report the suspicion of the existence of conflict of interest or limitations in performing of public function to the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, which gives its opinion on this matter.
Pursuant to Article 21, Paragraph 1 of the Law on National Public Broadcaster Radio and Television of Montenegro, RTCG Council advocates the interests of the public, while Article 22, Paragraph 3, stipulates that the Council analyzes and decides on complaints related to violation of program principles established by the law and program documents and imposes appropriate measures to the Director of the Radio of Montenegro and the Director of the Television of Montenegro.
By giving political support to one of the presidential candidates, Mimo Drašković subordinated the public interest in which he must perform the function of the Council member of RTCG to the private interest by supporting a candidate to win the presidential elections. Also, private interest through support for one presidential candidate affects and can affect his impartiality in the exercise of the public function of the member of RTCG Council. Furthermore, Mimo Drašković, as a public official, was obliged to take measures in order to resolve conflicts of interests and respect limitations in accordance with the law, as well as to report to the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption suspicion of conflict of interest and request the opinion whether by giving public explicit political support to one of the presidential candidates he caused a conflict of private interest for that candidate to win the elections, and the public interest of impartial performing of the function of the RTCG Council member, which public official Mimo Drašković did not do in the specific case.
Pursuant to legal competences, RTCG Council decides on complaints related to violation of program principles established by the law and program documents, including complaints submitted by a presidential candidate whom he gave support or by other candidates whom he did not support, after which the Council issues binding instructions to the Director of the Radio of Montenegro and the Director of the Television of Montenegro. Thus, Mimo Drašković, on the basis of competences he has as a member of RTCG Council to decide on complaints of the candidate to whom he gave public support or other candidates to whom he did not support, could get into the conflict of interest and enable the decision-making in the private interest. Therefore, his public activities in terms of political support to DPS presidential candidate Milo Đukanović can influence the impartial performance of the public function of the RTCG Council member when deciding on the rights and interests of presidential candidates or political parties. The political involvement of the RTCG Council member affects his impartiality in performing the public function to which he is appointed by the decision of the Parliament of Montenegro and it may influence the subordination of the public interest to the common private interest between him and the presidential candidate whom he publicly and explicitly supported.
According to all of the above, we demand that the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption submit a request for initiating of a procedure for establishing a violation of the provisions of the Law on Prevention of Corruption concerning the prevention of conflict of interest in the exercise of public function and restrictions in the exercise of the public function by public official Mimo Drašković, a member of the RTCG Council and request that the Agency undertake actions within its jurisdiction to determine the existence of a conflict of interest of a public official appointed by the Parliament of Montenegro.
Initiative submitted by:
Network for Affirmation of NGO Sector MANS, Vanja Calović Marković
Centre for Civic Education, Daliborka Uljarević
Institut alternativa, Stevo Muk
Centar za razvoj nevladinih organizacija, Ana Novaković
Ženska akcija, Siavica Striković
Evropski omladinski centar Crne Gore, Mladen Španjević
Regionalna Ekološka Asocijacija “Zelena Akcija”, Pljevlja, Božidar Rogović
Udruženje Mladih “Alternativa”, Pljevlja, Alija Šljuka
Udruženje za zaštitu prava radnika i nezaposlenih lica Opštine Bijelo Polje, Drago Zeković
Breznica, Pljevlja, Milorad Mitrović
Bihorski parlamen, Safet Adžibulić
Lok. Oml. Vijeće- Lok. Oml. Savjet, Pljevlja, Ljubiša Lečić
E-Roma, Ismet Selimović
Green Action, Herceg Novi, Milica Stanković
Eko pokret, Nikola Čabarkapa
Bjelopoljski demokratski centar, Zdravko Janjušević
Udruženje za razvoj civilnog društva, Mirsala Tomić
Green Power, Bijelo Polje, Davor Obradović
Bjelopoljski Savez Nevladinih organizacija, Uglješa Prebiračević
Multimedijalni studio Bijelo Polje, Ruzmir Osmanović
Agro centar, Dragan Radović
Stečajci Crne Gore, Borislav Ćulafić
