The previous session of the Kotor Municipal Assembly has put forth a proposal for Vladimir Jokić to assume the role of mayor and to approve a resolution for provisional financing, according to “Vijesti”.

Scheduled for Thursday under an expedited procedure, the session’s agenda includes three main points: the election of the mayor, the approval of temporary funding for the budget beneficiaries of Kotor Municipality, and various appointments and elections.

The rationale behind the proposal, put forth by 17 councilors, mentions that local elections in Kotor took place on September 29 of last year, but results were still pending by the time the request was made. It is noted that Vladimir Jokić’s term as mayor expired on October 30, 2024, leaving the municipality without a leader since that date.

“Given that proceedings are ongoing in the Constitutional Court due to appeals from an election participant, with no clear conclusion in sight, and considering that the deadline to adopt a municipal budget is March 31, 2025, the absence of a Decision on Temporary Financing has left us in a prolonged state of dysfunction in local governance. This jeopardizes the citizens’ constitutionally guaranteed rights to self-governance, and any further delays in addressing the proposed agenda could also threaten the property interests of the Municipality of Kotor,” reads the proposal.

Due to issues raised regarding two polling stations (Mirac and the Prčanj Cultural Center), the final election results remain unannounced, the new government has yet to be established, and this year’s budget has not been approved nor has a decision on temporary funding been made.

On October 11, Mayor Vladimir Jokić (Democrats) filed two complaints with the Constitutional Court, citing the ongoing deadlock in the Kotor electoral commission.

However, by October 24, the Constitutional Court had not reached a resolution on Jokić’s appeals, resulting in a split vote of 3:3. They noted that three judges believed they had the authority to address the election dispute substantively, while the other three maintained that their role was limited to reviewing procedural violations in the election commission’s operations.

At the end of last October, Jokić retracted his constitutional appeals in an effort to conclude the election process.

In November of last year, the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) also brought an appeal to the Constitutional Court regarding the State Election Commission’s (SEC) decision to dismiss their complaint concerning the elections at the two contested polling stations in Kotor. A ruling from the Constitutional Court on this matter is still pending.

Municipal employees of Kotor, who have not yet received their January wages due to the political stalemate in the city, staged a protest outside the Municipality building today.

Jokić, whose term ended on October 30 last year, indicated in mid-February to “Vijesti” that despite claims to the contrary, it is unworkable to leave the city in paralysis for an extended duration.

“The pressure from citizens and all those connected to local governance is immense, so we will have to take action,” Jokić remarked.

He elaborated that the reason for not disbursing the January salaries was the lack of a mandate for any payments to occur.

“There is neither a decision on temporary financing nor an approved budget. We lack the legal basis to process any payments.”

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