DPS has submitted a proposal for open electoral lists to the parliamentary procedure. The law proposes that voters can vote for one electoral list, and within that list, select up to ten candidates for deputies in parliamentary elections and one list and five candidates for councilors in local elections. Given that the proposal has not been previously agreed with other parties, the question is whether it can expect wider support.
DPS MP Nikola Rakočević said in the show "Arguments" that he expects the support of all political entities and individuals in parliament who understand their role responsibly, before the citizens and institutions of the Parliament of Montenegro.
"I find it difficult to grasp and understand the arguments against the idea of opening electoral lists. Political ideas, programs and outcomes should be tested in front of citizens, and this would ensure that there are no inactive MPs in parliament," said Rakočević.
He added that citizens should vote directly for the candidates they believe best represent them and expressed impatience to see if any of his fellow MPs would have any objections.
He noted that the proposed law is only a platform and that the public debate will be used to supplement the law in the form of individual candidacies, strengthen transparency and democratize the process.
"We are ready to hear from the non-governmental sector, the academic and media community, as well as colleagues in parliament in order to further amend the law," said Rakočević.
Rakočević emphasized that open lists are not the only priority and that the law should also include other reforms in order to comprehensively modernize the electoral system.
On the other hand, Vasilije Čarapić from the Europe Now Movement (PES) warns that DPS reforms should not be trusted too much, recalling previous reforms in the judiciary which, according to him, did not serve the public interest.
"All reforms proposed by the DPS are always aimed at achieving their private interests, not public ones," said Čarapić.
However, Čarapić supported the idea of open lists, but criticized DPS for previously leaving the forum for comprehensive electoral reform, a place where broader political consensus could be reached. "You want reform, but you don't want to implement it - that is the message of DPS," he added.
He assessed that the proposal represents a sketch that can be developed and concretized through dialogue and that there is room for progress. According to Čarapić, support for the law is being secured through the Electoral Reform Committee, which is currently blocked, because the DPS, and perhaps part of the opposition, are trying to impose the reform through political ultimatums, which he considers unsustainable and difficult to implement, despite the consensus.
"I would not trust the reforms proposed by the DPS," said Čarapić.
To this, Rakočević responded that he was sorry that Čarapić had started the debate in what he considered to be a politically inappropriate manner.
"We don't trust the people from the parliamentary majority and there is no dialogue there," said Rakočević.
He recalled that all proposals submitted to the parliament by the Electoral Reform Committee are adopted by full consensus, which means that it only takes one political entity that is against open lists for that proposal to not be submitted to parliament. According to him, there are currently several political entities in parliament that are against open lists.
"And through the committee, they wanted to implement widespread democratic accountability to ensure that this law does not see the light of day," said Rakočević.
He added that, according to their research, over 93 percent of citizens are in favor of open lists.
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