According to the data from the Center for Monitoring and Research (CeMI), 52.4% of citizens voted in the presidential elections by 17h.
CeMI's PR coordinator, Maja Bjelic, said that 56.1 percent of citizens voted in the central region, 45.4 percent in the southern region, and 53.4 percent in the northern region by 17h.
"If we look back at previous elections, the turnout in the presidential elections in 2018 by 17 o'clock was 49.5 percent, in the parliamentary elections in 2020 68.4 percent, and in the parliamentary elections in 2016, 61.2 percent," said Bjelic.
She emphasized that at the polling station no 6 in Šavnik, a member of the polling board, representative of DF, did not allow the voter to exercise his right to vote, due to the opinion that the person in question is not a resident of Šavnik, after which the voting was stopped at the this polling station.
“We strongly condemn this polling board member’s behavior and call on the State Prosecutor's Office to act urgently in order to protect the integrity of the electoral process and enable the unhindered practicing of the voting right.” said Bijelic.
She added that according to several reports from citizens and CeMi observers, the irregularity of using mobile phones at the polling station is repeated, which is contrary to Article 71a of the Law, which prohibits the use of electronic communication devices in premises designated for voting.
“We invite the presidents of the polling boards to strictly adhere to the provisions of the Law in such a way that they will warn the person who obstructs the work in this way. In addition, in case of such a repeated irregularity, based on the previous decision of the polling board, it is necessary to remove the person from premises, and record it as a statement in the minutes related to the work of the PB. Citizens continue to report violations of electoral silence and pressure on voters to vote for certain candidates.”
At the polling station 2-A, Blok V - Podgorica, as she added, the members of the polling board were directly threatened by one voter that he will disrupt the election process and close the polling station.
"The police was informed about the threats sent. Pursuant to Article 71 of the Law, the president of the polling board, based on the prior consent of other members, may call a police officer to be present at the polling station, if peace and order has been disturbed. At one polling station, the members of the polling committee read aloud the names of the voters and their ordinal numbers from the Voter's list," said Bjelic.
She explained that according to the Article 69 of the Law on the Election of Councilors and Members of Parliament, a member of the polling board who performs voter identification, as well as the other members, is prohibited from announcing names and surnames of voters, as well as their ordinal number, in any form, especially out loud.
The mission of civil monitoring of the presidential elections in Montenegro in 2023 is implemented with the support of the British Embassy in Podgorica.
The last CeMI's press conference is scheduled for 19:15.