Montenegrin Parliament Chairman Calls No Confidence Motion Political Betrayal

Faizan Hashmi Published January 20, 2022 | 12:40 AM

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th January, 2022) Montenegro's parliamentary speaker Aleksa Becic on Wednesday called United Reform Action's (URA) initiative on a no-confidence motion for the acting government "a political betrayal of the people."

On Wednesday, Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic's URA with Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovich's Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) handed the initiative to the parliament in an attempt to dissolve the acting government. The proposal for the vote was signed by 31 out of 81 lawmakers of the Montenegrin parliament. The initiative comes after months of disputes within the shaky ruling coalition, which was formed in Fall 2020 by DPS after parliamentary elections.

"Those who have representatives in the cabinet of ministers, are trying to overthrow the government together with DPS. This is called political immorality... Those who rose from a rejection of criminality and corruption of DPS, and whose members have been oppressed by this terrible system of government for decades, now expressing their readiness to talk about establishing a new government led by DPS, this is called political betrayal," Becic posted on Facebook.

The date of the vote has yet to be determined.

On Tuesday, Montenegrin Prime MInister Zdravko Krivokapic said that "the current cabinet of ministers will be dissolved when it becomes unsuccessful."

In November 2021, the Parliamentary board for Defense and Security Chair, Milan Knezevic, told Sputnik that Montenegro should expect the election of a new government, which may occur both in parliament or through an early general election.

The August 2020 parliamentary elections in Montenegro saw a bloc of three former opposition parties, the alliance For the Future of Montenegro led by Krivokapic, win a historic combined majority of 41 seats in the 81-seat legislature. Djukanovic's DPS only gained 30 seats, losing its ruling status after almost 30 years in power.