The European Union revealed that earlier this month, “the issue regarding the fuel consumption of Deputy Speaker of Parliament Zdenka Popović went largely unnoticed by the public.”

“On that (non-working) day (January 2), the parliamentary public relations department announced that the fuel was not consumed by Popović, but rather by ‘an individual working in Parliament under a service contract’. However, a straightforward review of the Parliament’s vehicle fleet records shows that this vehicle is registered to Deputy Speaker Zdenka Popović, thus making her responsible,” the EU’s statement asserts.

Furthermore, they expressed that the public remains uninformed about whether any formal report has been filed against the “unnamed individual”.

“The unidentified person whom the parliamentary service accuses of this abuse has reportedly ‘ceased to work in the highest legislative house’. Nonetheless, they neglected to inform the public whether a proper criminal complaint was filed against this individual, or if they were merely reassigned to the payroll of the Post Office or CEDIS as a reward for this situation,” the Alliance commented.

It was noted that the vehicle in question “was frequently observed traveling from Podgorica to the municipalities where elections occurred during that time.”

“We encourage citizens to recall the uproar, shouting, and disturbances that the Democrats, then in opposition, caused over the slightest irregularities in their work. Today, we inform them that it is a well-known fact that local elections took place in Montenegro during that time, and this vehicle was seen daily, often multiple times, on the route from Podgorica to the municipalities involved in the elections. We also know the identity of the person who issued the orders, and it is not ‘a person working in Parliament under a service contract’,” the EU’s statement continued.

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