Montenegrin opposition MPs once again disrupted the session of the Parliament today, protesting a recent decision by the Constitutional Committee regarding the retirement of Constitutional Court judges. Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandić imposed measures on the MPs and interrupted the session.
As opposition MPs blocked Mandić’s path once again, preventing the session from continuing, Mandić addressed them, stating: “Montenegro is small, and we don’t have anyone closer to us than you. Help us get into the EU. I want us all together, ready to carry you on our backs and enter the EU.”
Mandić added that the patience of the parliamentary majority should positively influence the opposition MPs. “We are close to the EU, we are in the EU’s vestibule, as Milan Knežević would say,” he stated.
DPS MP Aleksandra Vuković Kuč reiterated that the Constitutional Committee had overstepped its authority, humiliating and undermining the Constitutional Court. She said the opposition would not allow the session to proceed until the controversial decision regarding the retirement of a Constitutional Court judge, made by the Constitutional Committee and confirmed by the Parliament, is reversed and declared null and void.
“The opposition will not allow the session to be held. Until the government returns to its previous state, we will have a parliamentary crisis,” said Vuković Kuč.
She also criticized the lack of condemnation of the verbal abuse towards a female MP in Parliament, adding, “Neither the Speaker of the Parliament, nor the Prime Minister, nor the President of the country have condemned this.”
The opposition announced that they would continue their protests until the disputed decisions on the retirement of the judge are withdrawn. No official statement has been issued by the ruling majority regarding the opposition’s demands.
