Eskobar: Montenegro near the institutional collapse

The Special Envoy of the United States for the Western Balkans Gabriel Eskobar warned of "many possible consequences" if Montenegro does not solve a multi -month deep political and institutional crisis.

Montenegro is in a very deep crisis. It is close to the institutional collapse that I have almost not seen in any country. No government. Two governments fell and there was no progress in the formation of another. They do not have a quorum in the Constitutional Court that could confirm the new elections - Eskobar said in an interview with the Voice of America, during a visit to Belgrade.

Deputy Assistant US Secretary of State Secretar recalled that in the spring he points out the term of the President Mil Djukanovic. Danijela Djurovic's Assembly President recently announced the presidential elections for March 19th.

It may happen that they do not have the president to entrust the mandate, that they do not have a government to move forward and the Constitutional Court to approve all decisions and confirm the results of the election - Eskobar emphasized.

The US official reiterated that the main task was to immediately fill in the vacant seats in the Constitutional Court, "and then to go to the polls."

They must start with the Constitutional Court. And beyond that, we believe, the surveys show that the vast majority of citizens want new elections. And that's where they should start - he thinks.

Eskobar, referring to the opinion of the Venetian Commission, also said that any thought was very dangerous to "change the constitution for the most part".

We have already said that we are not sure that it would be a constitutional valid government. We are not sure that we could rely on the decisions of such a government. We encouraged them not to do it - Eskobar concluded.

The parliamentary majority proclaimed the end of December Demos December, Miodrag Lekic's leader for the Mandandes for the New Government of Montenegro on the basis of the controversial amendments to the Law on the President, which she had previously adopted in the Assembly, despite the negative opinion of the Venetian Commission.

The officials of the US and the European Union warned that the Government should not be selected based on changes.

In the meantime, negotiations on the formation of the Government failed. The current Government of Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic was in a technical term, after being voted on distrust more than five months ago.

In the meantime, the Constitutional Court is blocked because out of a total of seven, there are currently only three judges and there is no quorum to decide the key issues in the country.

The officials of the European Union Member States have repeatedly warned Podgorica to the threat of stopping an accession negotiation, unless the full functionality of the Constitutional Court is provided.

In Montenegro there is a new judge's election process in the currently new process, after the previous candidates have not received the necessary support in the Assembly.

M.J.