The NGOs Media Center, Montenegro Media Institute (IMCG), Centre for Civic Education (CCE), Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG), Association of Professional Journalists of Montenegro, Ul Info, Bijelo Polje Democratic Centre and NOVA – Center for Feminist Culture call on the Administrative Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro to make publicly available the documentation submitted by all candidates for membership in the Council of the Radio and Television of Montenegro (RTCG) before the process of appointing members of the RTCG Council continues.
We question the compliance of the documentation submitted by the NGOs that nominated Veselin Drljević for membership in the RTCG Council, particularly given the absence of publicly available information on the activities carried out and financial reports of most of these organisations.
We recall that the procedure for appointing four new members of the RTCG Council was delayed by 45 days. It was evident that there was a deliberate attempt to rush the process, considering that the mandates of four current Council members expire on 11 June. During yesterday’s session, this deadline was used as an argument to prevent interested opposition MPs from conducting a thorough review of the documentation submitted by all candidates.
The conduct of the majority within the Administrative Committee yesterday further demonstrated the extent to which this process has become politicised. According to available information, the nomination documents for certain candidates, including Veselin Drljević, fail to specify the category of authorised nominators from which the candidacy originates – namely, whether the nomination comes from organisations active in the field of human rights or from organisations operating in the media sector. This information is not a mere formality. It represents a fundamental prerequisite for verifying the legality of the submitted documentation and, without it, such documentation cannot be considered complete. Only on the basis of this information can it be determined whether the nominating organisations meet the legal requirements, including whether their statutes confirm activities in the relevant field and whether they have implemented activities in that field during the previous three years with annual funding amounting to at least EUR 2,000.
Furthermore, the majority within the Administrative Committee demonstrated inconsistency in applying the prescribed criteria by disregarding the fact that the nomination documents of Veselin Drljević, as well as those of several other candidates, do not indicate which governing body of the nominating NGO adopted the decision to endorse the candidacy. We remind the public that only a few months ago the same Administrative Committee annulled the call for the appointment of members of the Council of the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services precisely because the documentation submitted by candidates Dragoljub Vuković and Niko Martinović failed to specify which organisational body had made the nomination decision. Had the Committee applied the same standards in the present procedure, the only candidates with complete documentation would have been Vladan Mićunović and Olivera Nikolić.
Although the law does not require public hearings for RTCG Council candidates, the Administrative Committee has decided to organise such a hearing on 9 June, claiming that it seeks to enhance the transparency of the process. We therefore call on the Chair and members of the Committee to apply this principle consistently and allow both candidates and interested MPs access to the complete documentation of all candidates during the same session. Only in this way can serious concerns be dispelled that the process is being politically orchestrated with the aim of installing politically aligned so-called NGO representatives in the RTCG Council.
As early as 18 May, the Media Center submitted a request for free access to information to the Parliament of Montenegro, seeking complete documentation concerning all organisations that nominated candidates for the RTCG Council. To date, no response has been received from Parliament.
Should a detailed and independent review of the documentation not be enabled before the completion of the appointment process, it will be difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Parliamentary Service selectively applied the rules and acted in favour of candidates close to parties of the parliamentary majority.
Goran Đurović, Media Center
Olivera Nikolić, Montenegro Media Institute (IMCG)
Daliborka Uljarević, Centre for Civic Education (CCE)
Milka Tadić Mijović, Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG)
Mila Radulović, Association of Professional Journalists of Montenegro
Mustafa Canka, Ul Info
Zdravko Janjušević, Bijelo Polje Democratic Centre
Nataša Nelević, NOVA – Center for Feminist Culture