Politics of Montenegro

Constitution

The current Constitution of Montenegro was ratified and adopted by the Constitutional Parliament of Montenegro on 19 October 2007. The Constitution was officially proclaimed as the Constitution of Montenegro on 22 October 2007. This Constitution replaced the Constitution of 1992.

The new Constitution defines Montenegro as a civic, democratic and environmentally friendly country with social justice, established by the sovereign rights of its government.

Executive branch

The Government of Montenegro (Влада Републике Црне Горе, Vlada Republike Crne Gore) comprises the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers as well as ministers. Milo Đukanović is the Prime Minister of Montenegro and head of the Government. The ruling entity in Montenegro is the Coalition for a European Montenegro, headed by Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro (DPS) (Демократска Партија Социјалиста Црне Горе).

2012 Election

With nearly all votes counted after the election on 14 October 2012, the alliance of Milo Djukanovic's Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and two small parties looked set to get 39 seats in the 81-seat parliament.

President

The President of Montenegro is elected for a period of five years through direct and secret ballots. The President:

Government

The Government of Montenegro is appointed by majority vote of the Parliament. The Government:

Prime minister

The Prime Minister of Montenegro directs the work of the Government, and submits to the Parliament the Government's Program including a list of proposed ministers. The resignation of the Prime Minister will cause the fall of the Government.

Legislative branch

The Parliament of Montenegro (Montenegrin: Скупштина Црне Горе, Skupština Crne Gore) is the legislature of Montenegro. The Parliament currently has 81 members, each elected for a four-year term. Montenegro has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments.

The Assembly passes all laws in Montenegro, ratifies international treaties, appoints the Prime Minister, ministers, and justices of all courts, adopts the budget and performs other duties as established by the Constitution. The Parliament can pass a vote of no-confidence on the Government by a majority of the members. One deputy is elected per 6,000 voters, which in turn results in a reduction of total number of deputies in the Assembly of Montenegro.

Judicial branch

Montenegro follows the principle of division of powers. Its judicial, legislative, and executive branches are independent of each other. The judiciary is autonomous and independent. The rulings of the courts must be in accordance with the Constitution and the laws of Montenegro. Appointment to a judiciary position is permanent.

Subdivisions

Montenegro is divided in 21 municipalities.

Symbols

A new official flag of Montenegro was adopted on July 12, 2004 by the Montenegrin legislature. The new flag is based on the personal standard of King Nikola I of Montenegro. This flag was all red with a gold border, a gold coat of arms, and the initials "НИ" in Cyrillic script (corresponding to NI in Latin script) representing King Nikola I. These initials are omitted from the modern flag.

The national day of 13 July marks the date in 1878 when the Congress of Berlin recognised Montenegro as the 27th independent state in the world and the start of the first popular uprising in Europe against the Axis Powers on 13 July 1941 in Montenegro.

In 2004, the Montenegrin legislature selected a popular Montenegrin folk song, "Oh the Bright Dawn of May", as the national anthem. Montenegro's official anthem during the reign of King Nikola was Ubavoj nam Crnoj Gori (To our beautiful Montenegro). The music was composed by the King's son Knjaz Mirko.