Montenegrin Parliament to Elect New Government on April 28

Montenegro parliament

The vote for the new cabinet and parliament speaker of Montenegro will be held on April 28, at a session of the Montenegrin national assembly in Cetinje.
 
MPs from the Democratic Front and Democratic Montenegro have announced that they will not attend the session because its scheduling was “unconstitutional” and betrays the electoral will of the people.

After previous Parliament Speaker Aleksa Becic was deposed in early February, his replacement – deputy prime minister Strahinja Bulajic, of the pro-Russian Democratic Front – refused to schedule another session of the assembly, attempting to prevent the formation of a new government where his party was not represented.

Two months later, Bulajic resigned and 46 MPs submitted an official request for a session to take place. The new government will comprise the United Reform Action, minority parties, the pro-Serbian Socialist People’s Party and the oppositional, pro-Montenegrin Social Democratic Party. This minority government will be supported in Parliament by Milo Djukanovic’s Democratic Party of Socialists.

Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic’s cabinet lost the support of Parliament on Feb. 4, after which Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic named United Reform Action leader Dritan Abazovic prime minister designate, tasking him with the formation of a new cabinet.

Abazovic has proposed a government with 18 ministries, four deputy prime ministers and two ministers without portfolios. He has also submitted a program of priority matters to the assembly, which includes the review of questionable and illegal decisions made by prior cabinets and state institutions, aiming for their urgent reversal. Other matters Abrazovic has prioritized are the passing of a Census Act and the restructuring of the contractual relations between the state and religious communities, in keeping with Montenegro’s Constitution and legislation.