Ministry of Public Administration report submitted to Kotor Parliament, shortening of mandate requested
The Ministry of Public Administration has determined that the conditions have been met for the Municipal Assembly of Kotor to adopt a decision to shorten its mandate. This issue had been at the center of a dispute between the government and the opposition over whether the current Mayor of Kotor Vladimir Jokić is lawfully holding office, given that he was elected to the position on March 6, 2025, by the previous assembly convocation, the newspaper Pobjeda reports.
The findings of the Ministry of Public Administration, signed by Minister Maraš Dukaj, were delivered today to the councilor groups in the Kotor municipal parliament.
The initiative to shorten the mandate of the Municipal Assembly (MA) of Kotor, submitted by the opposition Democratic Party of Socialist and signed by 11 councilors from that party, the European Alliance and the Croatian Civic Initiative, was not adopted on Friday as it failed to secure the required majority. Twelve opposition councilors, the signatories of the initiative, voted in favor, while 19 councilors from the current ruling majority voted against it.
The DPS councilor group in the MA of Kotor launched an initiative to dissolve the local parliament due to what they described as a gross and obvious violation of the Law on Local Self-Government, reflected in the failure to elect a mayor within the legally prescribed deadline. At the same time, a request was submitted to the Ministry of Public Administration for the urgent conduct of an inspection to review the legality of the work of local self-government bodies, in order to unequivocally determine whether the election of the mayor was carried out in accordance with the applicable legal framework.
According to the findings, which Pobjeda had access to, it is stated, among other things, that the mayor’s term of office, although time-defined as a four-year period, must be viewed as functionally linked to the specific assembly convocation that elected him. Each newly elected assembly has a constitutional and legal obligation to elect a mayor, thereby confirming or establishing executive authority in line with its own democratic legitimacy.
- Accepting an opposite interpretation would open space for serious and systemic abuses that would lead to the erosion of the constitutional concept of local self-government. It would enable the same assembly, by using formal expirations or interruptions of mandates, to effectively control executive authority for a period significantly longer than four years, depriving the newly elected assembly of its essential right to elect the mayor and exercise political oversight over him. Such an outcome would mean recognizing authority that does not derive from the current electoral will of the citizens, thereby directly violating Article 2 of the Constitution of Montenegro. The application of the principle of proportionality further confirms the justification of this interpretation. The obligation for a newly elected assembly to elect the mayor has a legitimate aim - the preservation of democratic legitimacy and accountability of the executive authority - represents a suitable and necessary measure for achieving that aim, and does not result in disproportionate interference with individual rights, but rather serves to protect the constitutional order and fundamental democratic principles. Taking all of the above into account, the conclusion is unequivocal that a newly elected municipal assembly has a constitutional and legal obligation to elect a mayor within 30 days of its constitution, regardless of the fact that the previous assembly, whose mandate expired or which acted outside its regular four-year term, elected a mayor for a four-year period. Any contrary interpretation constitutes a violation of the Constitution, undermines the electoral will of citizens, and erodes the system of local self-government based on democratic accountability - the Ministry of Public Administration’s report states.
The report also points to earlier practice by municipal assemblies which, in identical legal situations, applied the provisions of Article 56 of the Law on Local Self-Government.
- Taking all of the above into account, the Ministry of Public Administration informs the Municipal Assembly of Kotor that the conditions have been met for the application of Article 56, paragraph 4, of the Law on Local Self-Government, that is, for the adoption of a Decision to shorten the mandate of the Municipal Assembly of Kotor - the Ministry’s findings conclude.
Jokić was elected to the position by the previous convocation of the MA of Kotor on March 6, 2025, due to blockages in local self-government that followed the unresolved electoral process in Kotor. After the proclamation of the local election results, the new convocation of the Kotor parliament was constituted on December 23, 2025. However, Jokić has a different interpretation. As he previously told Pobjeda, the relevant provision of the law states that the mayor is elected within 30 days of the constitution of the assembly, but only if there is no mayor in office. He said that regardless of the fact that he was elected by the previous convocation of the Kotor parliament, the Law on Local Self-Government clearly and precisely provides that the mayor is elected for a four-year term.