The Government and Parliament leaders, Milojko Spajić (Europe Now Movement) and Andrija Mandić (New Serbian Democracy), remain silent regarding the absence of the prime minister’s hour for the past two months and when the session for executive branch oversight will take place.

Last week, “Vijesti” inquired with both the Government and Parliament, particularly the offices of Spajić and Mandić, but received no response.

The highest legislative body and the executive branch coordinate the scheduling of the prime minister’s hour through joint communication. Spajić’s government, alongside the parliamentary majority, frequently faces criticism from the opposition for not holding the prime minister’s hour often enough, which diminishes parliamentary oversight.

According to the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure, the Prime Minister’s Hour is to be held monthly during the regular (autumn and spring) sessions. The autumn session runs from the first working day of October to the last working day of December, while spring sessions span from the first working day of March to the last working day in July.

To comply with the rules, three prime minister’s hours must occur during the autumn session, and five during the spring session.

Despite this, the government has not adhered to the established norm. The first prime minister’s session under Spajić’s Government (which took office on October 30, 2023) took place on December 28, 2023, followed by three sessions during last year’s spring session on April 5, May 9, and July 19.

Sessions initially set for June 29 and July 26, 2024, were postponed to July 1 and 30 due to Spajić’s commitments but ultimately did not occur.

During the previous autumn session, two prime minister’s hours took place on October 29 and November 22, while a third scheduled for December 20 was obstructed by the opposition, which alleged that the parliamentary majority was “suspending the Constitution” and orchestrating a “coup” in the parliamentary Constitutional Committee by deciding to remove Dragana Đuranović from her judicial role in the Constitutional Court. Spajić subsequently refused to continue the session, asserting that he had already fulfilled his duty by publishing all parliamentary queries on the website.

The lone prime minister’s hour in this year’s spring session was on March 26, and no announcements have been made regarding future sessions. Thus, during Spajić’s term, a total of 13 prime minister’s hours were expected, yet only seven have been held.

Key platform as a technical obligation

Nikola Đurašević, a program associate at the Center for Civic Education (CCE), stated that the prime minister’s hour should not merely be a technical obligation, arguing that there appears to be a trend of canceling or postponing sessions for political reasons, which undermines democratic oversight.

He suggested that this behavior reflects a significant deficit in institutional practice and a lack of political will to utilize this mechanism for public benefit, rather than for political expediency or evading responsibility.

In response to the situation of there being no prime minister’s appointment for two months and with Spajić unavailable until at least early June (due to a working visit to Japan until June 1), Đurašević remarked that this exemplifies a clear disregard for fundamental democratic principles and government oversight mechanisms.

“The Prime Minister’s Hour is not a mere formality—it serves as a vital platform for direct dialogue between the legislative and executive branches and provides citizens, through their parliamentary representatives, a chance to seek answers to public interest questions. The prolonged absence of these sessions, alongside their previous irregularity, indicates the ruling structure’s arrogance and avoidance of its official responsibilities,” he emphasized.

He noted that it is “already evident” that Spajić seems unfamiliar with the principles of transparency and accountability in carrying out his duties, while Mandić appears to “facilitate” this issue.

“… Who likely uses it to ‘shield’ himself from inconvenient inquiries by the opposition… It is not surprising, though it must not be accepted as normal, that we find a restrictiveness in dialogue and accountability towards Parliament and citizens,” Đurašević concluded.

Discussing the cancellation of the prime minister’s hour on July 26 last year, attributed to Spajić’s attendance at the Paris Olympics, he mentioned that this drew significant backlash, particularly from the opposition, who deemed it an obstruction and manipulation of parliamentary procedures.

“It seems conditions have worsened since then, with the prime minister’s hour now not being scheduled at all. Beyond the number of sessions, there’s also the problem of consistency and timeliness of these sessions,” he remarked.

Đurašević: Mandić is collapsing the Parliament, Spajić is showing contempt

When questioned about the executive and legislative branches demonstrating irresponsibility and a lack of transparency regarding the approach to (not) holding prime minister’s hour sessions, Nikola Đurašević responded that Parliament Speaker Mandić is intentionally undermining that institution.

“… Including permitting the marginalization of the legislative branch’s oversight role for their own party and specific interests,” he assessed.

He emphasized that, concurrently, Prime Minister Spajić “demonstrates contempt for the institution that appointed him.”

“Such behavior would be scandalous in democratic societies grounded in functional rule of law, but in the hyperproduction of similar scenarios in our country, it frequently goes unchecked and unsanctioned. It is critical to note that in developed democracies, transparency and accountability are obligations, not choices for high-ranking officials,” he pointed out.

He reiterated that in Montenegro, there is a trend to transform this obligation into an exception, which poses a danger by eroding public trust in institutions—an already low trust level.

“I would like to reiterate that according to public opinion surveys conducted by CCE, the Parliament ranks lowest in citizens’ trust among institutions, and this primarily falls on those within it, especially the President of the Parliament and the ruling majority,” Đurašević concluded.

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