Montenegrins invited to rally against election theft

Source: Tanjug

PODGORICA -- Montenegrin presidential candidate Miodrag Lekić has invited citizens to a protest against the election theft on Saturday in Podgorica.

Miodrag Lekić (Tanjug, file)

His campaign headquarters filed an appeal to the Constitutional Court of Montenegro earlier today.
Lekić told a press conference that the protest on April 20 would be a “voice for protection of the Constitution and legality and democratic and European values in Montenegro”.

He pointed out that it was a citizens’ rally that should be held in a civilized and peaceful atmosphere and that all citizens of Montenegro were invited to come, regardless of their ethnicity and religion.

When asked to comment on EU officials Miroslav Lajčak and Jelko Kacin’s statements against the announced protest, Lekić said that he did not want to comment on them, adding that he would not rule out a possibility that their statements “were taken out of context”.

When asked what would happen after the protest, he said that it was primarily a question for the Montenegrin authorities.

“I think the authorities have a problem because they are starting to panic because they are aware that they have been caught stealing,” Lekić stressed.

The Constitutional Court has 48 hours to decide on Lekić’s appeal. The Constitutional Court is the last institution he can file an appeal to.

The Electoral Commission (DIK) rejected all complaints of Lekić’s campaign headquarters on Monday with a majority of votes. Lekić requested that the results of the vote be annulled at all polling stations where citizens had an opportunity to vote by mail.

DIK announced earlier that according to preliminary results, Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro (DPS) candidate Filip Vujanović won the election after 161,940 citizens of 51.21 percent voted for him. According to the same results, Lekić won the votes of 154,290 voters or 48.79 percent.

However, according to results of Lekić’s campaign headquarters, he won 50.5 percent of the vote while Vujanović won 49.5 percent.

Montenegrin PM and DPS leader Milo Đukanović said earlier he was not afraid of the announced protests of the opposition and added that any doubts about election irregularities should be addressed in the state institutions.

Montenegrin Police Administration has formed a team tasked with monitoring the security situation after the Democratic Front had announced the protests.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton called on all political factors in Montenegro on Monday to respect the legal procedure regarding the results of the presidential election.

“I call on all political parties in Montenegro to be involved in the issue in a constructive manner and to act in accordance with legal procedures,” Ashton told reporters in the EU Delegation’s headquarters in Podgorica.

She met with Đukanović but not with representatives of the opposition.