Thousands of Protesters in Podgorica Call on Montenegrin President to Resign

BELGRADE (Sputnik) - Thousands of protesters who marched in a fourth peaceful demonstration against Montenegro's leadership in Podgorica late on Saturday demanded that the country's top officials, including President Milo Djukanovic and Prime Minister Dusko Markovic, resign by 15 March amid allegations of corruption.

"We demand that the president, the prime minister, the leadership of the prosecutor's office [and] the Agency for Prevention of Corruption, the board of directors of the Radio and Television of Montenegro resign", actor and protester Slavisa Grubisa said.

The protesters gave the authorities until 15 March to fulfill their demands, warning that otherwise, they would gather the next day once again.

Podgorica
MONTENEGRO pic.twitter.com/bzFcu0w91s

— JОВАН ВЛАДИМИР 2 (@J290612577) 3 марта 2019 г.

The demonstrators also demanded that opposition lawmakers boycott the work of the parliament.

The rallies were triggered by claims that the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro (DPS), led by Djukanovic, allegedly received shady financing from tycoons ahead of the 2018 presidential elections.

Thousands protested in #Montenegro’s capital #Podgorica on Saturday, the fourth such rally in as many weeks, demanding that President Milo #Djukanovic and his government resign over alleged corruption, cronyism and abuse of office. pic.twitter.com/opo4RNPujJ

— Srbija Evropa (@srbija_eu) 3 марта 2019 г.

In particular, Montenegrin entrepreneur Dusko Knezevic, who is wanted on money laundering charges, has claimed that he donated over $200,000 to the party. The situation escalated further after the release of a video allegedly showing a senior DPS member taking more than $100,000 in an envelope from Knezevic.

Djukanovic has repeatedly denied Knezevic's accusations and warned that the corruption allegations would be used to incite anti-government protests to try to oust him from power.