06 Jun Overview of normative framework of the election process in Montenegro

In anticipation of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Montenegro, we are revising the legal regulations of the electoral process in Montenegro.

The normative framework of the election process in our country is prescribed by the Constitution of  Montenegro  and the provisions of the Law on the Election of Councilors and Members of Parliament. The current legal regulation is predominantly focused on organizing transparent and democratic elections.

The Law on the Election of Councilors and Members of Parliament stipulates that citizens who have Montenegrin citizenship and who are registered in the voter list in accordance with the law regulating the voter list, on the basis of general and equal voting rights, have the right to elect parliament representatives and the right to be elected as parliament representatives, in free and direct elections, by secret ballot.

The right to vote includes the rights of voters: to vote and to be elected; to run and be nominated; to decide on proposed candidates and electoral lists; to publicly ask candidates questions; to be informed in a timely, truthful, complete and objective manner about the programs and activities of the applicants for the electoral lists and about the candidates from those lists, as well as to have other rights provided by the Law on the Election of Councilors and Members of Parliament.

It is important to point out that no one is authorized, on any basis, to call the voter to account for voting, nor to ask them to say who they voted for or why they did not vote.

Parliamentary elections are organized by the coordination of authorities at three levels, i.e. with the active participation of the State Electoral Commission, the Municipal Electoral Commission and appointed election committees. The Law on the Election of Councilors and Members of Parliament prescribes numerous powers to the State Electoral Commission in terms of organization, management and control of the election process, with the obligation that members of the State Electoral Commission carry out their entrusted tasks professionally, transparently and impartially for the benefit of all citizens.

The member of parliament (MP) is elected in the electoral unit based on the list of a political party (party electoral list), a coalition of political parties (coalition electoral list), or a group of citizens (electoral list of a group of citizens).

Voting for the election of MPs in Montenegro takes place at polling stations. Polling stations are determined by the municipal electoral commission, on the proposal of the body responsible for maintaining the voter list, no later than 20 days before the day of the election, and each polling station is determined for up to 1,000 voters to vote. Voting is secret, and the duty of each polling station is to organize the election process in a way that ensures the secrecy of the vote, otherwise, the polling station is dissolved, and the voting at that polling station is repeated.

Each voter votes in person and during the election can vote only once, only for one list, by circling it on a certified ballot. When arriving at the polling station, the voter is obliged to hand over their identity card or passport to the president of the electoral board. The president of the electoral board finds the voter in the electronic and printed excerpt from the voter’s list by electronic identification, the voter signs in the space provided for that on the excerpt from the voter’s list, after which the electoral board allows the voter to vote. The device for electronic identification will display the photo of the voter on the monitor and print a paper cut-certificate, which contains the first and last name, personal identification number and serial number of the voter, which is identical to the one in the printed voter list. The president and a member of the electoral committee from the opposite political option (with respect for parity between the government and the opposition) will legibly sign the printed receipt-certificate, which will then be kept together with the voting coupon. The voter folds the completed ballot so the vote is not visible, while leaving the control coupon free, after which, holding the folded ballot in their hand, they go to the ballot box and allow, determined by lot, a member of the polling board to, on the perforated separate the control coupon from the ballot paper. The voter then places the ballot in the appropriate ballot box and leaves the polling station. A member of the electoral committee is obliged to stack the separate control coupons in order of serial numbers and to keep them in the manner prescribed by the rules issued by the State Election Commission. A voter who, due to age, disability, hospital or home treatment, is unable to vote at the polling station where he is entered in the the voter’s list, but wishes to vote, submits to the election board, on the prescribed form, a request for voting by letter.

The use of electronic communication devices is prohibited in the voting room. Members of the electoral committee and persons monitoring the work of the election enforcement body during voting are prohibited from keeping any evidence of voters who voted at the polling station, as well as using copies of the voter register or any other auxiliary records about voters.

If a voter violates the secrecy of the vote by voting publicly outside the area designated for voting or after voting in the area designated for that, publicly shows the ballot to the electoral board so that it can be seen who they voted for, the president of the electoral board, is obliged to invalidate such a ballot in the presence of the electoral board, after separating the control coupon, by crossing it out, packing it in a special envelope and inserting it into the ballot box instead of the voter.

After the voting is over, the election committee starts determining the voting results at the polling stations. Then, the State Electoral Commission  determines the total number of votes received by each electoral list and determines the number of mandates belonging to each list. Each electoral list has a number of mandates proportional to the number of votes received, and electoral lists that received at least 3% of the total number of valid votes can participate in the allocation of mandates.

In the case of irregularities affecting the election results, all voters, candidates and proposers of electoral lists can submit objections and appeals to the competent election commissions and courts, and State Electoral Commission  decisions can be appealed to the Constitutional Court.

The upcoming parliamentary elections are the fifth in a row after the referendum on the independence of Montenegro, this time premature, followed the decision to dissolve the Parliament. A total of 15 electoral lists were submitted to the State Electoral Commission for the upcoming parliamentary elections on June 11, 2023. Considering the significant number of submitted electoral lists, this time we expect a more complex but also dynamic election process compared to the previous ones.