Djukanovic scatters Montenegro's Parliament

The decision to disseminate Parliament comes three days before holding presidential elections, in which Djukanovqi also competes.

According to the presidency's announcement, the decree for the distribution of Montenegro's Parliament was signed on the basis of Article 92, point 3 of the Constitution of Montenegro.

Dritan Abazovic's current government seven months ago was toppled by a no-confidence motion. The executive collapsed after Abazovic signed the Base Agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church in August 2022.

Today, 90 days after changes to the Law for President were adopted, under which Miograd Llekic was nominated for government mandate, this legislation was published in the Official Journal.

Llekic failed to secure the support of 41 of the parliament's 81 deputies and form the new Government within the 90-day deadline.

Djukanovic had said changes to the Law for President were controversial and his legal advisers sent him to the Constitutional Court for assessment of constitutionality.

The law was changed in December by the parliamentary majority consisting of the pro-rus Democratic Front, the Democrats, the Socialist People's Party and the URA Movement.

Through legal changes, the parliamentary majority assumed the constitutional authority of the president of the state, after Djukanovic, for formal reasons, refused to mandate Llekiqi for forming the new government.

International partners, apart from the United States and the European Union, have repeatedly called on the parliamentary majority not to try to create the new government based on the amended law, arguing that executive legitimacy would be questioned. They also based that opinion on the negative opinion of the Venice Commission on changes to the Law for president.

The last parliamentary elections in Montenegro were held on August 30th 2020.

The new elections to be announced will be the sixth Montenegro has held since independence in 2006.