Garčević Calls for Immediate Montenegrin Elections and Formation of a New Government
In an interview with Pobjeda (Victory), Ambassador Vesko Garčević, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, commented on the current political instability in Montenegro, the country’s ongoing institutional crisis, and a possible way forward after the Presidential elections in March 2023.
In the article, titled “Što prije održati vanredne izbore i formirati novu vladu (Hold Early Elections and Form a New Government as Soon as Possible),” Garčević discusses how Montenegro has been going through political instability, somewhat expected considering the Democratic Party of Socialists became the opposition in 2020 after almost 30 years of power. The political turmoil was followed by the institutional crisis in recent months, which additionally aggravated the situation. Garčević notes this has all caused the paralysis of the Constitution Court, while the recent Constitutional amendments were adopted by the Parliament against the Constitutional law despite the warning of the European Union (EU). The already fragile and politicized institutional system has now been significantly weakened.
To get back to normal, Garčević argues that it is necessary to organize the early parliamentary elections as soon as possible and allow a new majority in the Parliament, following democratic principles, to form a new government. It implies that the government, in the technical mandate since August last year, changes its current approach and works proactively with political parties in the Parliament who tacitly support it to organize the elections as soon as possible, regardless of their outcome.
The full article can be read (in Bosnian) on Pobjeda‘s website.
During his diplomatic career, Ambassador Vesko Garčević dealt with issues pertinent to European security and NATO for almost 14 years. In 2004, he was posted in Vienna to serve as Ambassador to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He had been Montenegro’s Ambassador to NATO from 2010 until 2014 and served as Montenegro’s National Coordinator for NATO from 2015 until he joined the faculty at the Pardee School. Learn more about Ambassador Garčević on his faculty profile.