June 10, 2019 - Although the Administrative Court concluded the main hearing on the dismissal of the dismissed President of the Kotor municipality Vladimir Jokic, it did not determine the date of the decision, which, according to Jokic, was a direct violation of the law and a suspicion of the independence of the judiciary.
After the parliamentary decision of 24 April on the termination of the mandate of the President of the municipality of Kotor, consisting of two articles without mentioning any explanation, signed by the secretary of DPS Kotor Željko Avramović, Jokić decided to file a lawsuit with the Administrative Court requesting urgency in acting, expecting the annulment of the decision to dismiss him.
"It is clear that the decision to terminate the mandate was passed in a procedure that did not comply with the law and which as such must be canceled. Following Article 341 of the Law on Civil Procedure, after the oral hearing has been concluded, the prosecutors had to determine the date on which the decision will be made, which they rejected. Thereby the prosecution is directly violating the law and challenging the independence of the judiciary, especially in this situation when the public interest is threatened and when the functioning for the entire municipality depends on the decision of the Administrative Court," Jokic said after the main hearing.
He stressed that on insisting that the decision should be made before 14 June (the date when the assembly meeting in Kotor was scheduled with one item on the agenda - Election of the President of the Municipality), the Trial Chamber did not have any concrete answer.
"They already concluded in their remarks that they would make decisions within the legal deadline, although they were obliged to announce the date on which the decision will be made after the completion of the main hearing," Jokic said.
As for the political situation in the Kotor municipality, Jokic points out that "it is so clear that it has not been forced to comment too much."
"The DPS tried to take over power in the Kotor municipality by political corruption and a new coalition with the SDP and their councilors, bypassing the electoral will of citizens. They are trying to exert pressure on the court and all the institutions in Montenegro, to do something like that. Their initiative to dismiss the President of the Municipal Council of Kotor, Dragica Perovic, is just one step in their plan. What I must emphasize is that Zeljko Aprcovic (DPS) and Ranko Krivokapic (SDP) with their coalition partners are solely responsible for the non-payment of wages in the Kotor municipality and the city of Kotor. By my unlawful dismissal on 24 April, they left the town abusive, they did not elect the duty officer, and thus prevented the payment of the Municipality of Kotor. Before that meeting, the competent authorities submitted a request for consent to ministries with me to be able to pay salaries and make all current payments. As I was informed, these consents came. However, the fact is that this illegitimate and corrupt parliamentary majority has decided in its illegal session as it has brought. The only culprits, I repeat, are the clubs of DPS, SDP, SD, HGI, and LP, as well as the Krivokapic-Aprcovic duo who coordinated and devised this entire action," Jokic said.
Jokić, among other things, stated in the lawsuit that there was not one reason provided for by the Law on Local Self-Government and the Statute of the Kotor Municipality, which would have been dismissed, and that the claims of councilors who voted for his dismissal were arbitrary and inaccurate.
In the meantime, members of the DPS, SD, HGI, as well as the councilor Bruna Loncarevic, who was excluded from membership by the SDP, initiated the initiative for the replacement of the President of the Municipal Assembly Kotor Dragica Perovic and the election of Zeljko Aprcovic (DPS) for the new mayor.
In the proposal for the election of Aprcovic for the new mayor, it is stated that the DPS, based on the election result and the won 12 mandates in the SO, believes that it should take responsibility at this crisis moment for the municipality of Kotor.
