Thousands of Montenegrin citizens, donning their national and state emblems, staged a protest on Monday evening against the newly elected Speaker of the Montenegrin Parliament, Andrija Mandić.
Mandić secured his position as the Speaker of the Montenegrin Parliament on Monday, with the support of 49 out of the 81 deputies.
The demonstration, which took place in front of the Parliament building in Podgorica, also saw participation from various opposition parties and the Free Citizens’ Forum “Luča”. They collectively called for Mandić’s rejection as the Montenegrin Parliament’s Speaker.
Moreover, the protesters appealed to the incoming Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajić, to postpone the scheduled population census set for November 1.
Chants echoed through the crowd, including slogans such as “No to the Chetnik Government”, “Down with Fascism”, and “Mandić, Step Down”.
Members from the “Luča” organization voiced their concerns, stating, “We stand before the house, which, symbolically, morally, and politically, becomes a stain on today’s elections”.
Andrija Mandić’s appointment as Speaker also conferred upon him membership in the highest state security and defense body.
Mandić leads the New Serb Democracy, a party that is part of the pro-Serbian and pro-Russian Democratic Front coalition, recently rebranded as the Coalition for Montenegro’s Future.
The party’s foreign policy priorities involve advocating for the lifting of sanctions against Russia and withdrawing Montenegro’s recognition of Kosovo’s independence.
They are also staunchly against Montenegro’s NATO membership.
On the regional front, Mandić maintains remarkably close ties with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Milorad Dodik, the President of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He has also been known to deny the genocide in Srebrenica, where Bosnian Serb forces tragically killed over 8,000 Muslim men and boys during the 1990s conflict.
Furthermore, Mandić is closely associated with the Chetnik movement’s ideology, which collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II.
Since 2007, he has held the symbolic title of chetnik duke.
