According to the data of the Center for Monitoring and Research (CeMI), the turnout by 19 h was 66.9 percent.
The CeMI PR Coordinator, Maja Bjelic, said that by 19 h in the southern region voted 60.4 percent of voters, in the central region 71.6 percent and in the northern region 65 percent.
“By 19 h, 72.6 percent of voters voted in Podgorica, in Niksic 74.8 percent, in Bar 59.9 percent, in Bijelo Polje 67.9 percent.“, Bjelic said.
When speaking of the comparative data related to earlier elections, Bjelic said that the turnout in the first round of the presidential elections by 19 h was 60.5 percent, on the presidential elections in 2018 by 19 h it was 58.6 present and on the parliamentary elections in 2020 it was 74.9.
"In Bijelo Polje at the polling station 44 it was reported that the ballot box was broken which led to the cancelation of the voting process at this location. After an hour the new ballot box arrived so the Municipal Election Commission unanimously decided to continue the voting process and that it will be prolonged for one hour, which was the timefrme of the interruption.", Bjelic said.
She also pointed out that at the polling station 4 in the Community Center in Ulcinj a voter exercised his right to vote via a video call, pulling out his phone in a very visiable manner, which violates the Article 69a of the Law. The Election Committee did not react to this irregularity and did not identify the ballot paper as invalid.
"In Herceg Novi, at the polling station 2 in Sutorina the violation of provisions regulating the secrecy of the voting process from Article 69a was reported, as well as the violation of Article 71a of the Law due to the fact that an Election Committee member examined the voters list and informed unidentified individuals by phone whether or not and which voters exercised their right to vote."
She also pointed out that the reports of irregularities regarding the incomplete number of the Election Committees continue to arrive, as well as of taking photos of the ballot papers and speaking names of voters aloud.
She invited everyone to follow the websites www.ferizbori.me and www.izbori.cemi.org.me, official social network profiles, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as the programs of regional, national and local broadcasters.
The project “Civil monitoring of presidential elections in Montenegro in 2023“ was enabled by the British Embassy in Podgorica.
The first premilinary projections of results shall be presented on the next press conference which will be held around 20:30 h.
