Montenegro's parliament

The early parliamentary elections, scheduled to take place on 11 June 2023, will be the twelfth parliamentary elections since the introduction of a multi-party system and the sixth since Montenegro gained its independence.  There are around 542 thousand eligible voters registered in the central electoral roll.

Members of the former ruling majority in Montenegro's parliament. Photo: Parliament of Montenegro

The coalition government collapsed on February 4 after parliament backed a vote of no-confidence called by the ruling Black on White bloc and opposition parties.

Mayor of Niksic Marko Kovacevic (right) at a session of parliament. Photo: Parliament of Montenegro.

"After gathering the necessary evidence, the Higher Prosecution in Podgorica filed an indictment, and the High Court in Podgorica will have to confirm it," state prosecutor Lepa Medenica told news website CDM.

Kosovo MPs adopted a resolution on Wednesday officially recognising the 1995 Srebrenica massacre as genocide, only days before the 26th commemoration of the slaughter of Bosniaks by Bosnian Serb forces.

At a special session on ended early on Thursday, the assembly of Bosnia's mainly Serb entity, Republika Srpska, backed vetoes proposed by Milorad Dodik on the visit of the President of Montenegro and on cooperation with the EU border agency Frontex.

Montenegro Army Chief General Dragutin Dakic has told television Vijesti that any soldiers or officers taking part in recent protests against the new law on religion risked being forced out, as there was no place in the military for those who want to defend the Church from the law.

Turkey's foreign minister met Montenegro's parliament speaker in capital Ankara on Feb. 19.

In a tweet, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said the two countries are "giving great importance to interparliamentary cooperation".

The foreign minister said he was very pleased to meet Ivan Brajovic, the parliament speaker of "friend and ally" Montenegro, twice within one week.

Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic has told members of his ruling Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, not to participate in the popular protests over the new religion law, led by the Serbian Orthodox Church, saying they are against Montenegro.

As protests continue in Montenegro over the recently adopted freedom of religion law, the government and Serbian Orthodox Church have both called for talks on resolving the dispute.

A Serbian Orthodox Church protest in Montenegro against the newly adopted law on religion, due to take place in Cetinje on Thursday night, has been canceled over security concerns. The Church has since announced that it is shifting the event from a protest walk in the town to an event inside the local monastery.