Podgorica, (MINA) – Public debate on amendments to the Law on the Election of Councilors and MPs, envisaging the introduction of open electoral lists, will begin this week, announced Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) MP Nikola Rakocevic.

Speaking at the press conference of the DPS parliamentary group, he said that the time has come for genuine electoral reform.

Rakocevic said that the citizens have called for open lists, and that the DPS has proposed a law that would introduce open lists in the next local and parliamentary elections.

“There will be no more political simulation in the parliament, both the ruling majority and the opposition MPs will have to clearly state whether they are in favor of open electoral lists, or whether they want the continuation of the partitocratic system where party leaderships decide who represents the citizens in the parliament”, said Rakocevic.

He explained that they proposed a solution according to which citizens would vote for one list, and within that list they can select up to ten candidates.

According to Rakocevic, in local elections voters would also choose one list and for up to five candidates for councilors.

He said that it is a system that, at the same time, will protect the less represented gender, as every third candidate on both state and local lists will be a woman.

“In this way, we have created a platform that will be used for public debate. The public debate will start this week”, said Rakocevic, adding that they will invite representatives of the media and academic community, the NGO sector, as well as institutions dealing with elections, to provide suggestions for further reform.

When asked if there is support within the parliamentary majority for the introduction of open electoral lists, he said that there is not.

Asked why the Parliamentary Comprehensive Electoral Reform Committee failed to produce results, Rakocevic said that the committee delivered certain results at the end of July, but that continuing to work would only amount to a “simulation of democracy”.

Asked about guaranteed seats for ethnic minority parties, Rakocevic said that there is already affirmative action that guarantees to those parties to, even in case that three percent threshold is not reached, have their representatives in the parliament.

Asked if they would meet with European Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos, he replied that, if given the opportunity, they would express the concerns of the opposition and a significant part of the public regarding the conduct of the authorities, “which view parliament and institutions solely as arenas for political and party profiteering”.