Mandic Survives Ouster Vote, PES Cards Go Missing

Montenegro’s parliament failed today to reach a quorum for the vote to remove parliament speaker Andrija Mandic, leaving the third attempt at his ouster without a decision, while lawmakers from the ruling Europe Now Movement (PES) found the cards used to log their attendance removed from their desks. The case also carries weight in Belgrade: the initiative was triggered by Mandic’s condolence message to the family of Ratko Mladic, finally convicted of genocide in Srebrenica, and opposition lawmakers argue that the fate of Montenegro’s parliament actually hinges on how Mandic and Democratic People’s Party leader Milan Knezevic position themselves toward Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

The extraordinary session was scheduled for noon, with a single item on the agenda: Mandic’s removal. The initiative was filed by the opposition Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and signed by 35 lawmakers, 16 from the DPS, six from the Bosniak Party, four from the Civic Movement URA, three from the European Alliance, plus one representative each from the Democratic Union of Albanians (Mehmed Zenka), the Croatian Civic Initiative (Adrijan Vuksanovic), the Albanian Forum (Artan Cobi) and the Albanian Alliance (Ilir Capuni), along with two independent lawmakers, Miodrag Lakovic and Nikola Janovic. Starting the session required the presence of at least 41 of the parliament’s 81 lawmakers, while the removal itself needed a majority of those present. According to earlier announcements, 38 lawmakers were ready to vote for the ouster, and with independent lawmaker Maja Vucelic that number rose to 39, still short of the quorum threshold.

Ahead of the session, Mandic’s own PES, the Democrats and the Socialist People’s Party (SNP) came out against the removal, as did the opposition Democratic People’s Party (DNP) and United Montenegro, while the DNP announced in advance that it would not enter the chamber at all. As we reported earlier, that move by the DNP further reduced the chances of a quorum being reached at all.

At 11:59 a.m., a minute before the session was due to start, journalists from Standard reported that the desks of PES lawmakers had no cards for logging attendance and votes, except at the seat of Seid Hadzic, the only lawmaker from that party who had earlier announced support for the removal, and at the seat of independent lawmaker Maja Vucelic. A card was also missing from Artan Cobi’s seat. Lawmakers from the New Serb Democracy, Democratic Montenegro, the SNP, United Montenegro and the Albanian Forum were not in the chamber at that point either, while security barred journalists from entering the plenary hall and the session was not broadcast.

European Alliance lawmaker Boris Mugosa said from parliament that “there are no cards in the PES lawmakers’ desks to log attendance at the session,” according to Portal Analitika, describing PES lawmakers as “disciplined and held captive.” PES parliamentary group leader Vasilije Carapic responded with photos from the chamber posted on X, saying: “It’s not nice to lie, let alone make your daily bread off it.”

DPS lawmaker Nikola Milovic clashed with the session’s chair, demanding that journalists be let into the chamber so the roll call could be taken in front of them and the public could see who was actually present:

“The Montenegrin public needs to know who enters the chamber today and who doesn’t. This is the dictatorship of one man who won’t let himself be measured to see whether he has the strength or not.”

Milovic said, according to Portal Analitika. By 12:18 p.m. the session still had not begun for lack of quorum, and Mandic, after a dispute over whether the broadcast would be allowed, left the chamber, while no official outcome had been announced by that point.

The crisis over Mandic’s mandate is unfolding at a moment when Brussels treats Montenegro’s EU path as a priority. EU Ambassador to Podgorica Johan Satler said after a conference on sustainable leadership that “the vast majority of citizens, between 75 and 80 percent, want your country to advance quickly toward the European Union,” an assessment that adds further pressure on Montenegrin parties not to let the dispute over the parliament speaker slow down negotiations with the EU.

For the region, and for Serbia in particular, the interpretation offered by DPS parliamentary group leader Andrija Nikolic carries weight. Ahead of the session he warned:

“If the parliamentary majority decides not to provide a quorum just to block the vote, then we are no longer talking only about saving Mandic.”

Nikolic recalled that PES has for months accused Knezevic’s DNP of acting on Vucic’s orders, and said that if Mandic ended up effectively shielded through the denial of a quorum, with DNP votes included, it would raise the question of how much Montenegro’s parliament’s political fate depends on Belgrade.

This marks the third attempt to remove Mandic since he was elected parliament speaker. Since today’s session was not formally concluded with a decision, the next step depends on whether the opposition calls another extraordinary session or the question of his removal is left for parliament’s regular session.