Montenegrin Lawmakers Move to Oust President for Violating Constitution, Reports Say

BELGRADE (Sputnik) - Montenegro's lawmakers have accused President Milo Djukanovic of violating the constitution after he refused to greenlight the proposed candidature for the prime minister and decided to launch the process to oust the head of state, media reported.

On Thursday, 41 members of parliament signed a letter calling for the president's removal after Djukanovic refused to vet Miodrag Lekic for the prime minister and announced he was dissolving the assembly instead, Montenegrin publication RTBC reported. 

The next parliamentary session is due to take place on September 30, but it is yet unclear whether the legislature will address the president's initiative to dissolve the parliament or the opposition's motion of removing the president.

However, before a no-confidence vote can go ahead in the chamber, lawyer Veselin Radulovic told online magazine Balkan Insight, the country's constitutional court must decide whether the president has in fact violated the constitution. As it happens, four out of the six judges have retired, most recently Judge Miodrag Ilickovic on September 20, therefore the court no longer has a quorum, making its decisions potentially unconstitutional.