Podgorica, (MINA) - Open electoral lists are not something to be copied, but a test of political honesty, the office of the President Jakov Milatovic said, adding that it is good that the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) has finally realized that citizens should elect representatives directly.

The DPS parliamentary group submitted to the parliamentary procedure amendments to the Law on the Election of Councilors and MPs, proposing the introduction of open electoral lists.

Milatovic’s cabinet said that it is good that the DPS is also proposing what it had been against for years, and that the party has finally realized that citizens should elect individuals by name, rather then vote for a party and its leader.

The office of the President stated that there is very little time left and that the reform must be completed by June, so that the laws can be adopted in the first half of June at the latest.

They said that, at the initiative of Milatovic, they had prepared a proposal for a comprehensive electoral reform, which included open lists, the candidacy of independent candidates and full gender equality in parliament.

According to the press release, the proposal was submitted to the Parliamentary Committee for Comprehensive Electoral Reform in December 2024, and was further developed in July last year.

“Therefore, it is no longer enough for DPS to copy what it once rejected. It is not enough for government representatives to verbally support open lists, while the Committee they lead fails to deliver results”, the press release reads.