Montenegrin MPs have elected Pavle Radovanović, Amar Škrijelj and Radenko Lacmanović as new members of the Council of Radio and Television of Montenegro (RTCG).

The Parliamentary Administrative Committee had previously proposed Radovanović, Škrijelj and Lacmanović for membership of the RTCG Council, while the former chair of the body, Veselin Drljević, withdrew his candidacy.

Radovanović was nominated by the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro, Drljević by non-governmental organisations working in the field of media, and Škrijelj by non-governmental organisations active in the protection of human rights and freedoms.

Lacmanović was nominated for membership of the RTCG Council by the Paralympic Committee of Montenegro.

Shortly after the appointments, the Media Center, the Center for Civic Education, the Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG) and the Media Institute of Montenegro issued a statement claiming that the parliamentary majority had knowingly violated the Law on RTCG.

“The parliamentary majority also violated the Law on RTCG through the manner in which the vote was conducted. Article 29, paragraph 2 of the Law clearly stipulates that ‘Parliament shall decide on the proposed list of candidates for appointment to the Council as a whole.’ Instead, MPs voted on each candidate individually. This provision exists precisely to prevent political interference in the selection of Council members, as candidates are nominated by authorised bodies such as the Chamber of Economy, the Olympic Committee or non-governmental organisations working in the relevant fields. Individual voting on candidates would effectively deprive authorised nominating bodies of a say in the selection of their own candidates. Yesterday, Parliament deliberately introduced a new unlawful practice so that, in future appointment procedures for RTCG Council members, MPs would be able to select only politically suitable representatives of non-governmental organisations,” the statement reads.

Representatives of another 12 NGOs joined this assessment, adding that such conduct had opened the door to political interference in the appointment of individuals who, by the nature of their role, should be independent of both the executive and legislative branches of government.

They called on the State Prosecutor’s Office to urgently decide on the criminal complaints already filed in connection with the documentation submitted by candidates for membership of the RTCG Council.