Center for Monitoring and Research CeMI held a press conference aimed at presentation of the results of the Comparative Candidate Survey (CCS), on 31st of July 2015, at 11 a.m. The Comparative Candidate Survey forms part of the international scientific project „Balkan Comparative Electoral Study: Impact of Personal Vote on Internal Party Relations”, which is being implemented through the Regional Research Promotion Programme in the Western Balkans (RRPP). The RRPP is coordinated by the University of Fribourg, with support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

The survey was conducted from May – June 2015 and it encompassed 20% of total number of candidates for MPs on parliamentary elections 2012, with 30 – 40% participation of candidates of parliamentary political parties. The research was conducted on the basis of questionnaire used in a uniformed way in over 40 countries all over the world. It covered five different aspects of political engagement of candidates of political parties for MPs: (1) political background and activities, (2) political campaign, (3) issues and policies, (4) democracy and representation. According to the main findings of the CCS, 54% of candidates for MPs consider that mixed electoral system should be introduced in Montenegro, whereas 79% of them find preferential voting a most suitable potential modification of the electoral system. This is an indicator of candidates’ willingness to participate in the elections through one form of personalized electoral system. Moreover, over one half of respondents (58%) think that current electoral system does not ensure representation of voters in the Parliament, opposite to the 35% of respondents who think this condition is fulfilled in Montenegro.