Concerns regarding the validity of the documentation submitted by NGOs that nominated Veselin Drljević for membership in the Council of Radio and Television of Montenegro (RTCG) have proven to be well-founded, further confirming that the ruling political parties have decided to appoint their preferred candidates in a manner contrary to both the law and its underlying spirit.
For example, the NGO Association for the Protection and Preservation of Nature “Kapetanovo Jezero”, which supported Veselin Drljević’s candidacy, was registered on 30 September 2010 under registration number 5261. According to records from the former Registry of Active NGOs maintained by the Ministry of Public Administration, dated 25 March 2021, the organisation’s authorised representative was Labud Minić and its headquarters were located in Kolašin. However, this organisation no longer appears in the current registry maintained by the Ministry of Regional-Investment Development and Cooperation with NGOs and published on the official NGO portal. A search of registration number 5261 shows that in 2021 the organisation changed its statute, address, name, and authorised representative. It now operates under the name Association for Information and Publishing Activities Radio Svetigora, represented by Dalibor Milaković. This organisation is listed as the founder of Radio Svetigora in the registry maintained by the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services, with the relevant transfer decision documenting the changes in name, headquarters, and authorised representative.
Furthermore, among the NGOs supporting Veselin Drljević are organisations with no known activities in the media sector. One example is the Centre for Culture and Education, for which no financial reports from the past three years are publicly available. It is noteworthy that this organisation shares its registered address with the NGO Let Us Preserve Democratic Values. The latest publicly available report for the latter dates back to 2018, while there is no publicly accessible information indicating any activities in the field of media.
Likewise, it remains unclear what connection the Centre for Rural Development of Montenegro has with media-related activities, as well as the Football Academy Pro – School of Football. In addition to the absence of any evident link to media-related work, publicly available information indicates that the Football Academy generated revenue of only EUR 1,217 in 2023, which falls below the statutory threshold of EUR 3,000.
The Writers’ Association is primarily a cultural organisation, and no known activities in the field of media have been identified that would satisfy the legal requirement of at least EUR 2,000 annually spent on media-related activities during the period 2023–2025, which is necessary for proposing a candidate for the RTCG Council under this category.
Even the two journalists’ associations that supported Veselin Drljević do not have publicly available financial reports for the past three years, giving rise to doubts as to whether they fulfilled the legal requirement of maintaining annual budgets exceeding EUR 3,000 between 2023 and 2025. More specifically, one of the organisations supporting Drljević is the Association of Journalists of Cetinje, headed by Nikola Vujanović, who is employed by RTCG, as is one of his sons, while another son is currently an intern at RTCG. The association’s revenue in 2023 amounted to EUR 1,900, meaning that it does not meet the legal requirement of having at least EUR 3,000 in annual income during the relevant three-year period. Similarly, no financial reports for the last three years are publicly available for the Society of Montenegrin Journalists, whose founder and first president was Dragan Mitov Đurović, currently Secretary General of SUBNOR, while its current president is Čedo Vukotić. One of the organisation’s representatives is also employed by RTCG.
No publicly available financial reports for the past three years can be found for the Association of Sports Journalists of Southeast Europe Against Doping either.
These examples alone demonstrate the need for a thorough review of the documentation submitted by all candidates, as it already appears evident that the majority of NGOs supporting Veselin Drljević fail to meet one or more of the legally prescribed requirements.
We also question the validity of the documentation submitted in support of candidate Amar Škrijelj. According to information available through CompanyWall, the NGO Youth Factory, which supported Škrijelj’s candidacy, generated revenue of only EUR 7 in 2023, which is significantly below the statutory minimum of EUR 3,000.
Based on information gathered through publicly available online sources and databases, we are convinced that the Parliamentary Service failed to properly assess whether the legal requirements and documentation submitted by RTCG Council candidates meet the conditions prescribed by law.
Article 26 of the Law on RTCG stipulates that: “A non-governmental organisation may nominate a candidate for membership in the Council if it fulfils the following conditions: Its founding act and statute identify, as its primary objectives and activities, issues referred to in Article 24, paragraph 1, items 3, 5, or 6 of this Law, and it has continuously engaged in these issues during the three years preceding the publication of the public call for nominations; During the three years preceding the publication of the public call, its annual budget for activities in the field in which it nominates a candidate was not less than EUR 3,000; During the same period, at least EUR 2,000 in one calendar year was spent on activities in the field in which the candidate is nominated.”
Should the authorities continue to insist on these candidates, they will openly demonstrate an intention to undermine everything that has been achieved through more than three years of work on media legislation, while simultaneously disregarding the fundamental principles of the rule of law. At the core of those principles lies respect for legally prescribed requirements and the application of clear criteria in the selection of all RTCG Council members. Otherwise, future parliamentary majorities will be given the opportunity to appoint politically convenient candidates regardless of whether the candidates themselves, or the organisations nominating them, meet the required conditions. Under such circumstances, Montenegro will never have a truly professional public service broadcaster.
The law established these criteria precisely to ensure that only active NGOs operating in relevant fields, such as human rights and media, may select their representatives through a demanding and rigorous process. The purpose of the legal requirements and eligibility criteria, both for candidates and for authorised nominators, was to ensure that RTCG Council members are capable of resisting various forms of influence.
We emphasise that even the information obtained through a brief review of publicly available online sources and databases should be sufficient to encourage the Administrative Committee to make all candidate documentation publicly available at its session on Tuesday, when hearings with all candidates are scheduled to take place. There is no legitimate public-interest reason to withhold such documentation when its publication could dispel all doubts before the process of selecting new RTCG Council members is completed.
We firmly believe that all ambiguities should be resolved before the election of RTCG Council members rather than through subsequent efforts to establish criminal responsibility for those involved in an unlawful process.
Given that the adoption of the media laws was one of the conditions for Montenegro obtaining a positive IBAR assessment, we will inform EU institutions of these legal violations and the continued political influence over RTCG, and we will request that they act to prevent yet another manipulation by the authorities or otherwise sanction such conduct.
Goran Đurović, Media Center
Olivera Nikolić, Montenegro Media Institute (MMI)
Daliborka Uljarević, Centre for Civic Education (CCE)
Milka Tadić Mijović, Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG)
Tea Gorjanc Prelević, Human Rights Action (HRA)
Darko Ivanović, NGO 35mm
Zdravko Janjušević, Bijelo Polje Democratic Centre
Nataša Nelević, NOVA – Center for Feminist Culture
Zorana Marković, Centre for Development of Non-Governmental Organisations (CRNVO)
Nevenka Vuksanović, Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM)
Maja Raičević, Women’s Rights Center
Budislavka Mira Saveljić, Shelter
Muamera Muslić, NGO Đakomo Adriatic
Boris Nedović, NGO Centre of the North
Marina Vujačić, Association of Youth with Disabilities of Montenegro (UMHCG)
Nataša Međedović, SOS Hotline for Women and Children Victims of Violence Nikšić
Radomir Kračković, Trade Union of Media of Montenegro
Aida Petrović, NGO Prima