Parliamentary majority deliberately violated the law in appointing Public Broadcaster Council members
It is particularly telling that Minister of Culture and Media Tamara Vujović remained silent throughout the entire process. She did not react when the public call was delayed, when the Administrative Committee ignored obvious irregularities in the candidates' documentation, or when the parliamentary majority, including members of her own party, voted contrary to an explicit provision of the law. This outcome also sends a message to the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro, whose call on Parliament to carefully review the candidates' documentation and ensure a lawful appointment of Council members was ignored, raising particular concern in light of Montenegro's commitments regarding media freedom and the rule of law
Montenegro's Parliament yesterday concluded the process of appointing members of the Council of the national public broadcaster, Radio Television of Montenegro, while deliberately violating the law, confirming that the process had been driven by political rather than legal criteria from the outset, according to a joint statement signed by Media Centre Director Goran Đurović, Centre for Civic Education (CCE) Executive Director Daliborka Uljarević, Centre for Investigative Reporting of Montenegro (CIN-CG) Executive Director Milka Tadić-Mijović, and Montenegro Media Institute Executive Director Olivera Nikolić.
The organisations recalled that on July 17 they submitted an initiative to the Parliamentary Administrative Committee requesting that it reconsider the nominations and establish a new list of candidates for the Council after reviewing the available documentation, which, they said, revealed numerous serious irregularities and failures by some candidates to meet the statutory requirements.
- There was no response whatsoever from Administrative Committee Chair Jelena Nedović or the Committee's members. This confirmed that there was no political will to apply the law, but rather to appoint to the Council candidates who suited the parliamentary majority, regardless of whether they met the legal requirements or had the support of qualified authorised nominators. Had the Administrative Committee intended to act in accordance with the Law on the Radio Television of Montenegro, following the withdrawal of Veselin Drljević's candidacy after his final conviction and seven-month prison sentence, Olivera Nikolić would have appeared on the list as the candidate nominated by media NGOs. Likewise, had the documentation submitted by candidates in the field of human rights been carefully reviewed and the evidence we provided taken into account, it would have been established that Vladan Mićunović had the support of a greater number of qualified NGOs than Amar Škrijelj - the statement said.
According to the organisations, the parliamentary majority also violated the Law on the Radio Television of Montenegro through the manner in which the vote was conducted.
- Article 29, paragraph 2 of the Law clearly provides that „Parliament shall decide on the proposed list of candidates for appointment to the Council as a whole“. Instead, MPs voted on each candidate individually. This provision exists precisely to prevent political influence over the appointment of Council members, since candidates are nominated by authorised proposers such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Olympic Committee, or NGOs operating in the relevant fields. Individual voting on candidates effectively deprives authorised nominators of their role in selecting their own nominees. By doing so yesterday, Parliament deliberately introduced a new unlawful practice that will allow future Council appointments to be limited to politically acceptable NGO representatives - the statement added.
The organisations said it was particularly significant that Minister of Culture and Media Tamara Vujović remained silent throughout the entire process.
- She did not react when the publication of the public call was delayed, when the Administrative Committee ignored obvious irregularities in the candidates' documentation, or when the parliamentary majority, including MPs from her own party, voted contrary to an explicit provision of the law. This outcome also sends a message to the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro, whose call on Parliament to carefully review the candidates' documentation and ensure a lawful appointment of Council members was ignored. This is particularly concerning in light of Montenegro's obligations in the areas of media freedom and the rule of law - the statement said.
According to the NGOs, yesterday's vote also demonstrated the limited scope of political dialogue between the government and the opposition.
- Cooperation appears possible when it comes to appointments in the judiciary and constitutional reforms, but not when it comes to ensuring the lawful and depoliticised functioning of independent institutions. The parties currently in power have once again shown that they apply the law selectively, when it suits their political interests, while disregarding or arbitrarily interpreting it when it does not. In doing so, they are reproducing the same patterns of political behaviour they spent years criticising while in opposition. Experience shows that political control over RTCG always comes at a price. Just as the previous government ultimately paid the political cost for exercising such control, those making these decisions today, including all leaders of the ruling majority parties, will likewise bear responsibility for them - the statement concluded.