Montenegro’s parliament elects members of Constitutional Court, ending 6-month stalemate

National Assembly elects 3 members by majority of votes, fourth candidate to be determined in voting later

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Montenego’s parliament elected three new Constitutional Court judges on Monday, ending a six-month stalemate.

The National Assembly elected the three members by a majority of votes in the parliamentary session.

Candidates Snezana Armenko, Dragana Djuranovic and Momirka Tesic were voted into their posts by 77 members of the 81-seat parliament.

A fourth candidate, Faruk Resulbegovic, did not receive the necessary votes.

Montenegrin Parliament Speaker Danijela Djurovic said the decision on Resulbegovic will be determined in voting to be held a month later at the latest.

The new members took the oath and officially began their duties, filling a gap in the court, which had been left without a quorum since Sept. 20, 2022.

Earlier, the European Union warned that Montenegro was in danger of stalling its European Union membership process, saying it must allow for the normal functioning of the Constitutional Court it wanted to pursue its path to joining the bloc.

Presenting the Montenegro report last month at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said Montenegrin authorities must appoint the missing judges to the Constitutional Court by February or the accession talks with the EU may be terminated.

The Constitutional Court of Montenegro, consisting of seven judges, has had only three members since September last year.

As a result, the court has been unable to decide on constitutional appeals or end election processes.

While four judges could not be elected because the required majority could not be achieved in sessions held in September and October last year, 27 candidates applied for re-voting.

The members of the Constitutional Court are elected by the National Assembly.

Montenegro will hold presidential elections on March 19.

The current mandate of President Milo Dukanovic began on May 20, 2018, with the swearing in of members of the parliament.

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