Podgorica, (MINA) – The Parliamentary Club of the URA Civic Movement has submitted to the parliamentary procedure amendments to the Law on the Election of Councilors and MPs, proposing the introduction of open electoral lists, i.e. preferential voting.

URA MP Ana Novakovic Djurovic said at the press conference that previous amendments to electoral legislation were insufficient.

“For us, although these were important steps and changes, all of this represents to some extent a kind of cosmetic interventions in the existing electoral legislation, and the only essential change that can really represent a qualitative and meaning democratic step forward in Montenegro is the introduction of open lists”, Novakovic Djurovic said.

She explained that the proposed model would allow voters not only to choose a party list, but to directly select candidates within the list.

According to Novakovic Djurovic, the aim of the amendments is to strengthen the accountability of the elected representatives and restore citizens’ trust in the electoral process.

URA also proposes introducing a special mechanism to support the less represented gender, as well as electoral incentives for the Roma community.

Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) parliamentary club submitted to the parliamentary procedure amendments to the Law on the Election of Councilors and Deputies almost a month ago, which also propose the introduction of open electoral lists.

URA MP Zoran Mikic said that they submitted their version of the amendments because they believe it is more comprehensive than the DPS’s proposal.