Election reform must be one of the focuses of the next parliamentary term, as numerous open issues need to be resolved, said Ana Nenezic, Executive Director of the Centre for Monitoring and Research (CeMI), adding that without political will, it is not possible to make progress.

Nenezic, in an interview with MINA agency, said that Montenegro is entering yet another electoral process without electoral law reform and with all the accompanying problems that have characterized previous electoral processes.

"I primarily mean the politicized electoral administration, which is still not professionalized, and due to its composition, predominantly made up of representatives of political parties, decisions are made based on political, not public interest," Nenezic assessed.

According to her, this situation was also present during the almost completed presidential elections, with no guarantee that similar situations will not occur again.

"Legal collisions regarding the start of the electoral campaign, which according to one legal solution officially begins after the confirmation of electoral lists, while according to another from the moment of announcing the elections, create significant problems for key institutions that should oversee the legality of the electoral process," said Nenezic.

In her view, political parties exploit these uncertainties, while on the other hand, there is no clearly defined legal mechanism to limit them.

"I would also mention the long-standing problem with the voter registry, which is not updated, and we can reasonably state is not accurate, and represents a serious obstacle to conducting the electoral process," Nenezic pointed out.

She mentioned that there are numerous additional problems.

When asked about the main reason for the lack of concrete electoral reform so far, Nenezic responded that it is clear that it is predominantly due to a lack of political will.

She said that one of the priorities in the programs of most opposition parties at the time, now ruling parties, was electoral law reform.

"They themselves indicated for years that existing legal solutions give institutional advantage to the then ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS)," added Nenezic.

Given this, she noted, it is difficult to come to another conclusion except that representatives of the current majority have also recognized the advantages of such an unimplemented legal system and have no political interest in embarking on electoral reform.

"Just as then, so now, we point out the same anomalies, numerous legal gaps, and uncertainties that leave room for abuse, regardless of who is in power at that time," Nenezic said.

She emphasized that the public interest is to finally properly address these issues and thereby create a basis for equal opportunities for all participants in the electoral process.

When asked if she agrees that all previous attempts at electoral reform have been purely "cosmetic," Nenezic confirmed, noting that this is best reflected through the numerous problems accompanying the electoral process.

"For example, the method of collecting support signatures during the presidential elections has now become a subject of interest for the prosecution," said Nenezic.

The problem with collecting signatures, she noted, is one of the issues pointed out for years, but unsuccessfully.

"At the same time, CeMI, as well as other domestic and international election monitoring organizations, have been denied access to candidate applications and support signatures," Nenezic said.

She explained that it is now clear why.

"The decision for such unlawful conduct by the State Election Commission stemmed from the decision of the Agency for Personal Data Protection, which took the stance that it jeopardizes the privacy rights of those who gave support signatures, even though such a decision has no legal basis," Nenezić stated.

She said they expect the same approach during the upcoming parliamentary elections.

"At the same time, the same Agency does nothing to protect the rights of our citizens in the process of collecting signatures or to protect their personal data during the electoral processes," added Nenezic.

When asked if she expects that electoral reform will be a focus of the next parliamentary term and that conditions for conducting fair and free elections will finally be established, she said she believes it must be one of the focuses of the next parliamentary term, as numerous open issues need to be resolved.

She noted that this is also a requirement of the European Commission within the negotiation process, which in every annual report on Montenegro highlights the necessity of accepting ODIHR recommendations, as well as those from domestic observation missions.

"CeMI, after more than 20 years of work in this field, in Montenegro, the region, and through international missions, has prepared solutions based on the best international practices and adapted to our legal system," Nenezic said.

However, she added, without political will to finally address these issues, it is not possible to make progress.

"Also, the approach of the current majority parties towards civil society organizations, whose proposals for improving the electoral system they vigorously supported while in opposition, is indicative. Now, unfortunately, the situation is completely different," Nenezic noted.

The Parliament of Montenegro established a Committee for Comprehensive Electoral Reform at the end of March 2021.

When asked how she comments on the fact that this parliamentary body ceased its work already in July of the following year, Nenezic said that, from this distance, it is clear that there was no intention for its work to produce changes and concrete results.

"It was a classic simulation and an attempt to present the then opposition as a constructive partner to the international community, ready to engage in electoral law reform, or to reveal the unwillingness of the DPS, as the then ruling party, to initiate and enable the application of prepared solutions," Nenezic assessed.

According to her, neither did the parties of the new parliamentary majority show readiness, as since their victory in the 2020 elections, there has been no further discussion on these issues, and the Committee is not functional.

"We can state that DPS simulated processes, while the new parliamentary majority did not consider it appropriate or necessary to at least declaratively position this issue as important," Nenezic noted.