Centre for Civic Education (CCE) invites the Managing Board (MB) of the University of Montenegro (UoM) and its president Duško Bjelica to explain to the public there is no call for the elections for the Rector, having in mind the fact that to the current Rector of the UoM prof. Predrag Miranović the term of office expires on 19 August 19 2014. The MB of the UCG is obliged to call the elections for the Rector at least six months before the expiration of the current Rector’s term of office – i.e. until 19 February, as well as to publish the decision on calling these elections in the Bulletin of the UoM.
CCE reminds that on the last meeting of the MB of the UoM, held on 14 February, this issue was not discussed as far as the public is informed and it is not certain that the new meeting will be held until 19 February. That means that the legal deadline for timely scheduling of elections for a new rector UCG has been violated.
Considering that the procedure for the election of the Rector includes making the decision on call for the elections, nomination of candidates, determining proposals for the Rector, etc. some question shall be posed: 1) Is the above mentioned procedure conducted or is it conducted in a secret procedure, i.e. 2) Is the mechanism for prolonging the term of office of the current rector what is searched for?
By not implementing this procedure or in other words by disrespecting the Rulebook on procedure and deadlines for the elections, the procedure of the termination of the function and dismissal of the Rector of the UoM, the MB shows that it continues to interpret and apply the rules selectively. That does not contribute to solving of the long-term and numerous issues at the UoM, even though Bjelica is trying to present this to the public in completely different manner. Is the cause for not having elections called and not having candidates maybe in the estimation that there is no support for the ones who would be politically suitable for the position? Or in the fact that Bjelica himself does not fulfill formal conditions in order to candidate for that position so he is trying to get the time needed by abusing his authority?
It is obvious that the secret but effective signal was sent to all organizational units of the UoM, which should have had their proposals for the candidates for the Senate of the UoM until now, not to enter this process and that those organizational units agreed on that dictate without any academic voice that would speak about it in the public. That fact itself – that none from the UoM opens this question publicly, illustratively speaks about the state of the critical thinking at the UoM.
Snežana Kaluđerović, Programme Coordinator