MANS is implementing the project under the title “Improving of parliamentary monitoring and accountability in Montenegro” supported by the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF). The project refers to monitoring transparency and activities of the Parliament of Montenegro and its MPs. Duration of the project is two years, and this is the first semi-annual report published by MANS and relates to the period from November 1, 2017 to April 30, 2018.
On the basis of results of the parliamentary elections held on October 16, 2016, the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) won 36 seats, Democratic Front (DF) 18, coalition Ključ 9, Democratic Montenegro (DCG) 8, the Bosniak Party (BS) and the Social Democrats (SD) two seats, the Albanian Coalition and the Croatian Civic Initiative (HGI) one each, and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) 4 seats.
The Parliament of Montenegro was formed on November 7, 2016. Out of 81 MPs in Montenegro’s Parliament, 42 elected the president and vice-presidents of the Parliament – Ivan Brajović, Branimir Gvozdenović and Genci Nimanbegu. Thus, the parliamentary majority consists of DPS, SD, and minority parties of Bosniaks, Albanians and Croats, while 39 opposition MPs (DF, Democratic Montenegro, SD, DEMOS, SNP and Civic movement URA) have agreed to boycott the Parliament of Montenegro.
Montenegrin opposition has boycotted the work of the Parliament since parliamentary elections held on October 16, 2016, claiming they were not held in a democratic atmosphere. Namely, on the election day it was announced that the attempt of “coup” had taken place, which, in the opinion of opposition parties, influenced the decision of the citizens and the election result. The opposition requested to repeat parliamentary elections as a condition to end the boycott. Currently, 18 opposition MPs is boycotting the work of the Parliament.
This report provides information on individual activities of MPs, showing which MPs were most active at the plenary sessions and which did not request to speak at the plenary sessions. The work MPs Groups, the work of MPs at the plenary sessions of the Parliment, as well as the control function of the Parliament were analyzed.
The most active MP in observed period was Branko Radulovic (PZP), whose activity index is 4.01, while MPs Miodrag Vuković and Zvonko Vuković have an activity index of 0.00 which means that they did not have any activity at the plenum.
In the period from November 1, 2017 to April 30, 2018, 13 sessions of the Parliament were held, with a total duration of 95 hours. The most discussions had DPS MPs, 124, while individually, the most discussions had MP Branko Radulović, 31 in total.
The work of the Parliament is being boycotted by the MPs of Democrats, SDP, URA, DEMOS, SNP as well as independent MP Anka Vukićević. Since March this year, after a brief return to the Parliament, DF MPs renewed the boycott.
Complete report download HERE (PDF)
