The non-governmental sector welcomes the initiative of representatives of PES and DPS for all MPs to publicly announce their diplomas. They say there could be some surprises, which is why they doubt that politicians will accept the proposal. So far, only DPS MP Ivan Vuković has announced his diploma, while the other parties have not yet expressed their position on this topic.
After a proposal was initiated in the Parliament for MPs to publish their diplomas, the first to do so was DPS MP Ivan Vuković. He posted on social media that he completed his undergraduate and specialist studies in Montenegro, after which he pursued further training in the Netherlands, and then received his doctorate in Hungary.
While other MPs have not yet commented on their qualifications, those from the non-governmental sector welcome the initiative.
"Representatives of the legislative branch need to show the arsenal they have, citizens need to see that arsenal. Based on some of the information we have, it is possible that there will be some slightly controversial ones, but that is expected," said Vesko Pejak, coordinator of Alternative Montenegro.
Vuković initiated this proposal together with PES MP Uglješa Urošević. Although other parties are also declaratively committed to fighting fake diplomas, DPS doubts that the initiative will be successful.
"Yes, we could have had a positive response from all parliamentary groups yesterday. It's a similar situation to the open lists. When you ask the MPs if they are in favor, they all are, and when the moment came to vote on it, you saw that no one from the majority was able to do so," said DPS MP Mihailo Anđušić.
While waiting for a response from other parliamentary groups, our interlocutors emphasize how important it is for citizens to have information about those who hold the highest state positions.
"For the reasons that Mr. Vuković spoke about in parliament yesterday, and these are concrete examples of people who manage serious processes in this country, whether they come from the legislative or executive branches, and to all the appeals that are not only from yesterday but have been made before by the NGO sector, the academic community and so on, we have a situation where there is silence," said Andjušić.
The Alternative coordinator says that if all 81 MPs now announced their diplomas, it would mean a lot.
"Because then we have a secure base and we can say - these are educated people and if anything we can count on them being experts in the areas they cover. If a law is bad, it is bad, but experts have given their opinion on whether that law is bad or good," he said.
Pejak says that there is no legal obligation for an MP to have a diploma, but points out that forging a document is a serious crime.
Therefore, he appeals to representatives of the legislative branch to publish information about their professional qualifications and thus demonstrate a responsible attitude towards those who elected them.
