Montenegrin PM Dritan Abazovic
PODGORICA, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Montenegrin government led by Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic lost a no-confidence motion at the parliament on Saturday.
The no-confidence motion submitted by the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) led by the country’s current President Milo Djukanovic was backed by 50 MPs in the 81-seat parliament.
“I hope that we will quickly constitute a new government and get a new prime minister … I want to believe that you have a continuation of the plan,” said Abazovic.
The no-confidence motion was submitted to parliament by the DPS because it considered the agreement signed earlier between the Montenegrin government and the Serbian Orthodox Church as opposed to the national interests of Montenegro.
While pro-Serbian parties praised the signing of the agreement, two governing coalition partners – Djukanovic’s Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS and the Social Democratic Party, SDP – called for early elections, saying the document was signed without a wide consensus.
The issue is sensitive for many in the small Balkan nation of 620,000 people that split from its much bigger neighbour Serbia in 2006.
The Serbian Orthodox Church enjoys the biggest following in Montenegro, but the nation is divided over the church’s dominant role and the country’s ties to its neighbour.
Critics have argued there was no need for a special deal with the church separate from other religious communities.
Pro-Western groups in Montenegro have described the agreement as a tool for Serbia and Russia to increase their influence in Montenegro amid the war in Ukraine.
This is the second government ousted by a no-confidence motion since this year.
The previous Montenegrin government, led by Zdravko Krivokapic, was ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament on Feb 4 this year, after only 14 months in power.
Abazovic replaced Krivokapic with the support of the DPS in April.
There will also be another no-confidence vote on Sept 2. It includes a motion to oust parliament speaker Danijela Djurovic and is backed by the opposition Democratic Front, Movement for Changes, Democratic Montenegro, DEMOS and True Montenegro. — NNN-AGENCIES
