President of the Parliament of Montenegro Mr Ivan Brajović today hosted OSCE PA Vice-President and Special Co-ordinator of the OSCE short-term observer mission to Montenegro Ms Margareta Cederfelt.
President Brajović was pleased with the presence of the OSCE observers, which is another confirmation of partner cooperation with Montenegro. He stressed that this organisation had supported democratic processes and modernisation of Montenegro even before the referendum on independence, particularly developing meaningful cooperation with the Parliament of Montenegro. He said that the parliamentary majority in this term was working intensively on improving election laws with the aim of creating the best possible election environment, but that, unfortunately, it did not have the support of the opposition parties.
- It is rather strange that opposition parties that have objections to the election laws do not want to vote for their improvement, in order to remove those objections. I see the only explanation in the fact that they need an alibi to say after the election defeat that the legal preconditions for free and fair elections have not been met, the President emphasised.
President Brajović believes that this time, too, the citizens will give their full support to a multi-ethnic, civic, anti-fascist, democratic Montenegro that respects the heritage of diversity, which is a good neighbour, a reliable ally in the North Atlantic Alliance and the next member of the European Union. He pointed out that it would not be a surprise if the opposition tried to jeopardize the regularity of the election process and justify its poor election results with manipulative actions, in addition to the already known and prepared scenarios. It is unusual and inappropriate to include the Serbian church in the elections in Montenegro, which continuously support this part of the opposition, thus disturbing the civic harmony and free expression of the electoral will of the citizens.
OSCE PA Vice-President Ms Margareta Cederfelt thanked President Brajović for the invitation and pointed out that this was the first observation mission of the Parliamentary Assembly after the epidemic caused by the coronavirus. She said that the presence of international observers is a marker of solidarity, which once again shows the commitment to Montenegro and its citizens.
- The 30 August election are important not only for the development and fulfilment of its foreign policy goals, but the presence of international observers is a sign of Europe's gradual opening from the coronavirus blockade. As observers, we look forward to seeing this time again as Montenegro works to ensure that elections are conducted in line with OSCE recommendations, while protecting public health, Ms Cederfelt said.
The meeting discussed the innovated election laws, the impact of coronavirus on the conduct of political campaigns and the conditions in which the election process will take place.
