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Ten to Eight – Day after Nikšić

Ten to Eight – Day after Nikšić

You are reading a daily contextual review of the news that marked the previous weekend.

By Ljubomir Filipović, CdM observer

URA fails

During the day, the CdM team will publish a detailed analysis of the election results and possible scenarios and their impact on political developments in Montenegro. We will therefore only talk about what happened during the election day. At first, the turnout was huge and close to the one from August. The results are such that coalitions around the DF and the Democrats can form a government on their own. The DPS has remained the strongest political entity, but the lack of coalition capacity will most likely leave it in opposition. Together with Messrs. Srđa Perić and Dragan Koprivica, I was a guest in the RTCG studio and watched the elections live.

Leaders’ reactions

Mr Dritan Abazović went to the scene, because the campaign was conducted in relation to him, and his name was included in the list name. Then he offered himself a little indirectly to the new authorities, although URA is not the deciding factor this time. Mr Andrija Mandić also announced the victory on behalf of the DF. Mr Momo Koprivica, perhaps the biggest winner of the election, did it himself, although the Democrats leader Aleksa Bečić was standing next to him. The leader of the European Team for Nikšić list gathered around the DPS, Ms Sanja Damjanović, had reason to be satisfied. In this city, the DPS stopped the shedding and avoided the humiliation announced by the new authorities. Mr Miodrag Daka Davidović was the only one to admit that he was not satisfied with the election results, but he announced that he would continue to be involved in politics.

Election day

The election day didn’t pass without incidents. First, Mr Milan Knežević, contrary to the rules, published the photographed ballot, although he didn’t vote in that city. There was also a physical conflict between DF and DPS activists. One ballot box was confiscated at one point. The DPS referred to the disinformation campaign that continued during the election day itself. Roma activist Fana Delija and her family were exposed to attacks and harassment.

Plantaže and URA’s hypocrisy

The day before the elections, the news published information about the catastrophic situation in Plantaže and that the company was allegedly facing bankruptcy. After that, URA used the information that Ms Verica Maraš, the former director of Plantaže, received an incredible €300,000 from the company for solving her housing issue. After this, MP Raško Konjević recalled that URA member Valerija Saveljić also earned around €600,000 from Plantaže during her work there.

Humiliation at Ministry of Defense

On Friday, we learnt that the Minister of Defense dismissed the head of military security, Mr Aleksandar Šaranović. However, the way in which he was dismissed – he was literally thrown out on the street, and was prevented from returning to the building to take his personal belongings, shows that these are quite dramatic reasons for this decision. As this Government is known for non-transparency, it will be very difficult for us to ever find out the reasons for this kind of relationship.

Rade Milošević’s dirty tricks?

When the message to the people of Nikšić arrived on Friday with the results of a false public opinion poll, all eyes were on Mr Rade Milošević, whose company deals with SMS and Viber marketing. The DPS claims that his company is behind the whole ploy and it published information about this on its channels.

Monument to Queen Jelena

The City of Podgorica announced on Saturday that the construction of the monument to Queen Jelena, which was planned in that city, was stopped by the ministry headed by Ms Vesna Bratić.

Although the Ministry allegedly relented and eventually gave the necessary approvals, the Government’s on-duty bots on social media, led by Berane Democrat official Nebojša Babović, coordinated the publication of pictures of Queen Jelena with Adolf Hitler to challenge the erection of the monument.

Miscellaneous

I recommend the excellent Aleksandar Radoman’s interview for Pobjeda.

The Internet went crazy over the weekend because of this PM’s slip.

The Deputy PM will be in Brussels the day after tomorrow, where the most discussed issues will be the change of prosecutorial laws.

So much for today. See you tomorrow at the same time.

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