After twelve hours of discussion and debate, the Assembly of Montenegro voted no confidence in the Government of Dritan Abazovic, one hour after midnight on August 20.
The government was overthrown with 50 votes in favor and one against.
To topple the government, the votes of at least 41 deputies, out of a total of 81 in the Assembly, were necessary.
Now Abazovic's government will operate with a technical mandate until the election of a new government.
The initiative to overthrow the Government, presented by the Democratic Socialist Party of the president of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, and a part of other parties, is a sign of dissatisfaction with Abazovic's decision to sign the Basic Agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Deputies of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) of Milo Djukanovic, the Democrats of Aleksa Bečić, the Social Democratic Party, the Social Democrats, the Bosnian Party, the Democratic Union of Albanians and True Montenegro voted for the overthrow.
Deputies of the pro-Serb Democratic Front, the Socialist People's Party and the URA Civic Movement of Abazovic did not participate in the vote.
During the evening of August 19, Abazovic tried to prevent the fall of the Government by offering the opposition parties to restructure the Government together, which did not pass.
Before the vote, in the final speech, Abazovic said that this is just one of the political battles and that everyone will soon meet in the elections.
He said that he hopes that soon the new government will be constituted and the representative for its formation will be found.
"The political fight at the moment is between Dritan Abazovic and Milo Djukanovic", he wrote on the Telegram network after the fall.
Abazovic said that the Basic Agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church is the main reason for the fall of his government.
"Tonight, the DPS initiative is voted on, which said that when they overthrow the Government, they will cancel the Basic Agreement. If you overthrow the government tonight, don't call us for negotiations. I did not sign the Basic Agreement for votes, nor for support, nor for the government, but for the reconciliation of the people of Montenegro", said Abazovic during the session.
Abazovic prime minister for 115 days
Dritan Abazovic's government was elected on April 28 of this year with the votes of DPS, URA, SDP, the pro-Serbian Socialist People's Party and the parties of the minority peoples.
Dritan Abazovic was the first Prime Minister of Montenegro, who belongs to a national minority community. He found himself at the head of the state after the 2020 elections, when the thirty-year rule of Milo Djukanovic's Democratic Party of Socialists ended. At that time, Abazovic's URA Civil Movement was the "turning point" for the formation of a new government in Montenegro.
In the previous government of Zdravko Krivokapič, he was the vice-president. After initiating the overthrow of the Krivokapiqi Government in February of this year, Abazovic became the new Prime Minister with the help of Djukanovic's Democratic Party of Socialists at the end of April.
What is happening now in Montenegro?
The fall of the Government opens the possibility of the formation of a new, third Government, based on the electoral results of the August 2020 parliamentary elections.
In the following period, the political parties will start negotiations for the formation of the new Government of Montenegro.
If a certain political group collects 41 signatures of MPs, they will be able to submit a request to the President of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, to give him the mandate to form the third Government.
In September, the dismissal of the Speaker of the Assembly of Montenegro is voted on
On September 2, the Assembly of Montenegro will decide on the dismissal of the Speaker of the Assembly of Montenegro, Danijela Gjurović.
This initiative is of the Democratic Front and the opposition Democrats.
The initiative states that "Gjurovic's presidency has been marked by continuous violations of the acts that regulate the functioning of the Assembly of Montenegro".