Mugoša: Drljević should withdraw his candidacy, Zorić should resign

President of the Council of Radio and Television of Montenegro Veselin Drljević should withdraw his candidacy and current Council member Naod Zorić should resign – said Social Democrats Member of Parliament Boris Mugoša today, following yesterday’s final court ruling that found both men guilty of abuse of office when they appointed Boris Raonić as Director-General of the public broadcaster despite knowing that he did not meet the legal requirements for the position.

Mugoša stressed that, as members of Parliament, they could not make decisions that are contrary to the law.

- The proposal of the Administrative Committee for the appointment of members of the Council of Radio and Television of Montenegro is currently in parliamentary procedure, and Veselin Drljević is on that list. He has been convicted of abuse of office and, in accordance with the Law on the Public Media Service, cannot be a member of this body. The law clearly states that a Council member cannot be a person who has been finally convicted of offences against official duty, nor of any criminal offence carrying a prison sentence of more than six months - Mugoša said.

According to the judgment, the prison sentence prescribed for this offence is seven months, he added.

- There are now two possible courses of action. One is for Drljević to withdraw his candidacy. In any case, Parliament cannot vote on a proposed list of candidates that includes Drljević - Mugoša stated.

He argued that the Administrative Committee must withdraw its proposed list because it contains a candidate who does not meet the legal requirements.

- As Parliament, we cannot vote on it either, because we vote on the list as a whole - Mugoša emphasized.

He further noted that Naod Zorić was also convicted of abuse of office.

- He is currently a member of the Council. The dismissal of Council members is governed by the Law on Audiovisual Media Services, which sets out the relevant conditions. It refers to provisions concerning final convictions for criminal offences against official duty. Therefore, the Administrative Committee must initiate proceedings for Zorić’s dismissal, although we expect him to resign - Mugoša said.

He added that Zorić remains a member of the Council despite no longer being eligible to serve on it.

- It is up to the Administrative Committee to do what falls within its jurisdiction - to withdraw the proposed list, likely announce a new public call, and initiate dismissal proceedings against Zorić because he no longer meets the requirements - Mugoša stated.

It should be recalled that Amina Murić was also included in the judgment.

The High Court upheld the first-instance ruling of the Basic Court, delivered by Judge Dragana Lubarda, which sentenced the President of the Council and several Council members to a seven-month suspended sentence.

The first-instance judgment was delivered on September 23.

In his closing statement, the prosecutor dropped the charges against Predrag Miranović.

The first-instance judgment has become final, as the High Court rejected the appeals filed by both the defence attorneys and the prosecutor.