Anđela Vojinović elected Deputy Speaker of Parliament
Democratic Montenegro Member of Parliament Anđela Vojinović has been elected Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Montenegro, receiving the votes of 53 MPs.
Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandić said that 64 ballots had been distributed and found in the ballot box, of which 53 were valid and 11 invalid.
Vojinović took the oath of office.
Mandić thanked the outgoing Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Montenegro, Zdenka Popović, adding that he could now reveal that, several years ago, during discussions within the parliamentary majority, they had been close to a solution that would have resulted in Montenegro getting its first female prime minister, and that he often refers to her as the „prime minister who never was“.
- But the time will come when Montenegro will have a female prime minister, and we, as a gender that has been disadvantaged throughout history, are preparing ourselves to accept all these facts in the future and to applaud, just as we are doing today for Ms Vojinović - Mandić said.
The proposal to elect Vojinović followed Popović’s resignation.
Two days ago, the Radio Television Podgorica portal reported that Popović would be appointed chargé d’affaires in Slovenia, which was denied by her party, stating that Dragan Tufegdžić would remain Montenegro’s ambassador to Slovenia until the end of his term. That media outlet reported yesterday that Popović had again confirmed that she would resign from the position of Deputy Speaker and continue her career in diplomacy in Slovenia. This was not mentioned in her resignation letter published on the Parliament’s website.
According to Popović, the decision represents the implementation of a previously agreed party arrangement.
- An agreement reached in the spirit of responsibility, mutual respect, and the principles on which the work of our political organization is based - Popović added.
At a session of the Democrats’ Main Board, it was proposed that Anđela Vojinović be nominated for the position of Deputy Speaker, while Valentina Minić would take a parliamentary seat.