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Tonight, the Parliament of Montenegro began the debate on the reforms to the Law on Religious Freedom, after it confirmed the mandate of the deputies of the ruling majority, although it had previously refused to do so with the State Electoral Commission (SEC).
Photo: BETAPHOTO / PARLIAMENTO DE MONTENEGRO / IGOR SLJIVANCANIN / MOThe Speaker of the Parliament of Montenegro Aleksa Bečić said that the attempt to obstruct the SEC is something that the history of Montenegrin, European and world parliamentarism does not recall.
Tonight, the State Elections Commission refused to verify the mandate of the new member of the ruling coalition, Suada Zoronjić, who was chosen from the “Black and White” list because, as they say, there was no quorum at the beginning of the parliamentary session. .
After the SEC’s decision was announced, the citizens who gathered again in front of the parliament building around 5 p.m. today, dispersed.
This is the first time that the SEC has refused to verify the mandate of any of the deputies. This calls into question the vote on amendments to the Religious Freedom Act. The final decision must be made by the Constitutional Court. However, once parliament confirmed the mandate despite the SEC’s decision, it is certain that amendments to the law will be adopted.
Earlier today, a large number of citizens protested in front of the Parliament of Montenegro in protest against the announced changes to the Freedom of Religion Law. They dispersed around 2 p.m., but several hundred returned and regrouped around 5 p.m.
Amendments to the law abolished members who were contentious with the Serbian Orthodox Church and so several months of litigation were organized. It has been announced that they will be adopted by the end of the year.
The amendments to the Law remove all articles related to the change in property status and it remains in the possession of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC).
If the state wants to register the property as its own, it can initiate litigation.
The possibility of resolving property disputes between the state and the church in an administrative procedure has been abolished.
The new amendments to the Law also abolished the provision of the previous one, according to which a religious community must be registered, which was also one of the points that the Serbian Orthodox Church vehemently opposed.
The opposition parties, precisely those that were in power when the Law on Religious Freedom was passed, harshly criticize the amendments to the same law passed by the current government, calling them anti-state and approved in the interest of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
The Law on Religious Freedom, approved by the then government of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) on December 27, 2019, provided that religious buildings and land that were owned by Montenegro until 1918, for which there is no evidence of the right of religious communities owned, becomes state property. The Serbian Orthodox Church strongly opposed this and therefore organized several months of litigation.
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