On Wednesday, an extraordinary session of the parliament of Montenegro is expected to vote on Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic’s proposal to sack his deputy Dritan Abazovic from his government.
Krivokapic’s request follows Abazovic’s motion of no confidence against the former’s government which will be voted on Thursday, February 3.
Abazovic is the junior ally of the ruling majority in Montenegro. His party’s four votes were crucial to Kriptokapic forming a government in December 2020, barely reaching the 41-vote threshold required for a majority in the 81-seat parliament.
The remaining two coalition parties hold 27 and 10 votes each, while the largest party in Parliament still remains that of Milo Djukanovic, the former president, with 30 seats.
Issues occurred within the ruling coalition after its two largest parties disagreed on whether to replace technocrat ministers with party politicians. Kriptokapic’s refusal to do so resulted in a stalemate that froze government operations.
Abazovic, the smallest member of the ruling coalition, moved in with a motion of no confidence seeking to remove Krivokapic’s cabinet and open the way for a minority government led by himself that would lead the country to early elections. The opposition have voiced their support for Abazovic’s proposal.
The rest of the ruling allies decried the move and Kriptokapic asked for an extraordinary parliament session to remove Abazovic.
