Montenegro’s Parliament will hold a special session on September 24 to discuss a motion seeking the dismissal of Speaker Andrija Mandić.
The initiative is backed by 38 opposition lawmakers, while three additional votes are needed for Mandić to be removed from his position.
According to the opposition motion, the main reason for seeking Mandić’s dismissal is his decision to publicly express condolences following the death of Ratko Mladić, the convicted Bosnian Serb war criminal who was sentenced to life imprisonment for genocide and other crimes committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Mandić was elected parliamentary speaker in late October 2023 as part of an agreement that paved the way for the formation of the new governing coalition led by Prime Minister Milojko Spajić.
He is the leader of the pro-Serbian and pro-Russian New Serb Democracy party, and his potential removal could create significant political instability within Montenegro’s multiethnic governing coalition, which also includes Albanian and Bosniak ministers alongside representatives of the Serbian community.
Meanwhile, representatives of Montenegro’s Serbian community have called for the dismissal of Foreign Minister Ervin Ibrahimović over his statements criticizing Ratko Mladić.
The political confrontation comes at a crucial moment for Montenegro, which is seeking to complete its EU accession negotiations and join the European Union by 2028.
Mandić’s future could therefore become an important test for Montenegro’s political stability and its ability to maintain its declared European course while navigating deep divisions over the legacy of the wars of the 1990s.
