An extended meeting of the Collegium of the President was held in the Parliament of Montenegro today, with the participation of the National Coordination Body for Communicable Diseases (NCB), representatives of the State Election Commission and the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption. The meeting was also attended by NGOs dealing with the election process - CDT, CEDEM, Civic Alliance and CEMI.
At the extended Collegium chaired by Mr Ivan Brajović, there was talk about the implementation of the upcoming elections, under the conditions that are a health risk.
Members of the NCB, headed by its President Mr Milutin Simović, informed the deputies about the work of the responsible institutions in the preparation of the safest possible epidemiological prerequisites for the implementation of electoral activities. Furthermore, the participants of the Collegium also discussed the drafting of the 2020 Instructions for Safe Holding of Elections. It is a document whose working version was drafted based on the joint work of the newly formed working group for preparing the elections in the conditions of the coronavirus epidemic, as well as comparative experiences from the recent elections in other countries. Based on these guidelines, the SEC will issue binding epidemiological instructions. It is important to emphasise that the drafting of this document was done with the key role and recommendations of the Institute of Public Health of Montenegro.
"In an open and interesting discussion with many open topics and issues, various proposals were presented at the Collegium, which refer to specifying the conditions for election campaigns. The common position of all those present was that the absolute priority was to preserve the health of the citizens of Montenegro, including voters, administration and all participants in the election process. We are convinced of the necessity for openness and clear specification of further measures in the preparation of the elections, and this meeting contributes to a better mutual understanding of parliamentary parties as direct actors on the political scene and other participants in today's extended meeting of the Collegium of the President. I expect that our today's guests will honour the suggestions of the MPs, as well as that our close cooperation will also continue in the upcoming period”- this was the position of the President of the Parliament of Montenegro Mr Ivan Brajović.
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