At a meeting held earlier this week, representatives of the ruling Democratic
Party of Socialists (DPS) and several Albanian parties hashed out a plan to introduce a
referendum for a Tuz Municipality by no later than 29 September of this year, with the
possibility of an earlier date if legal procedures allow.
Albanian leaders previously demanded that the ruling DPS hold the referendum simultaneously with the
presidential election, which is tentatively planned for this Spring. That plea was snubbed and Albanians reluctantly agreed that they will go ahead and throw their meaningless support for the referendum and to presidential candidate, Filip Vujanovic (DPS) anyway.
The referendum would proceed as soon as the fesibility of the economic viability of the municipality of Tuz is complete
In designing and implementing a referendum mechanism many
important issues must be considered. The
questions are both procedural and substantive and must all be dealt with by law in order for the referendum to be deemed
legitimate.
The referendum will be a
vote to decide whether to re-establish the "Municipality of Tuzi", as normally referred by a government to the people. Electors will vote by writing 'yes' or 'no' in the box opposite each question.
Referendums can be mandatory or optional. A mandatory referendum is a vote of the
electorate which is called automatically under particular circumstances as
defined in the constitution or ordinary legislation. Mandatory referendums are usually restricted to
very important political decisions. For
example, this type for referendum is normally used in relation to
constitutional revisions, disagreements between the president and legislature,
adoption of international treaties,
joining a supra-national organization, on issues of national sovereignty
or self-determination (For examples see Australia, Denmark, Estonia, Macedonia,
Iceland, Peru, Lithuania, Switzerland & Venezuela).
The second category of referendum, and the one that is
planned for Tuz, is the optional
referendum. This is a vote of the electorate
which does not have to be held by law but can be initiated by the government and in some cases by other parties.
This type of referendum can have many different forms: they may be pre-regulated by
constitutional rules or otherwise prescribed referendum rules (Spain, Austria, Argentina); or they may be special
(ad hoc) referendums setting forth particular rules to be followed specifically
for individual referendum (Norway, The United Kingdom). Optional or special (ad hoc) referendums are
those that are not regulated in the constitution or any permanent
legislation.
Generally, in order to hold a special (ad hoc) referendum
the decision to do so must come from the majority of the legislature (i.e.,
DPS) via passage of a specific law authorizing the holding of the special
referendum. Optional referendums have been seen frequently
in Europe on the issue of integration into the European Union.
Referendums are certainly wildly popular with voters, who
like any opportunity to get their view across and feel like they have a say. The ethnic classes instinctively welcome the
idea. But those who have looked more
closely at what referendums involve might think otherwise.
There is widespread research showing that plebiscites around
the world show they tend to be mainly used by autocratic regimes to get the
answer they want. The underlying
question is whether they're actually that democratic, after all. For example, (1) it’s legitimacy can be
undermined by low turnout. If only a
small electorate show up and vote one way or the other, is this really the
voice of the Albanians? Given the
salience of the issue, turnout should be expectantly high; (2) the result itself
is subject to interpretation, as negative voting can be seen as either an indication
of satisfaction with the status-quo or as a rejection of the politicians
putting the idea forward. Albanians may
indeed be satisfied with the safety net of Podgorica; they might feel insecure
and incapable of supporting their sociopolitical status be going forward
alone. Others may rebuke their own
political representatives and cast a vote to maintain the status-quo, for
example, as a show of dissatisfaction.
Although an independent Tuz Municipality is an ideal conclusion to the
referendum, there are many in its jurisdiction that feels just fine with the
territorial organization just the way it is.
Chances that the status-quo will remain intact, however are minimal.
One of, if not the most, important issues involved in
crafting this referendum mechanism lies in the drafting of the referendum
question. The way the question is phrased can have significant consequences
on how Albanians vote and the method in which the question is crafted and whom drafts it, can have substantial
implications on the legitimacy of the referendum overall. Therefore, it is crucial to consider all
aspects influenced and procedures necessary to develop a strong, neutral and
effective referendum question.
Then comes this Question: Why have referendums? Especially when the status that is being
voted for should be a guarantee protected under human rights charters and
minority laws, and not one that should be decided at the ballot box with a
chance that these human rights are negated.
Albanians in Montenegro live in regions considered their Homeland, or an
extension of the Albanian state. To hold
a referendum that decides whether to legally recognize a district (Tuz/Malësia)
or not is absurd. Malësia was once a fully
functioning and legally recognized municipality before it was stripped of its rights
in 1957. Today, the politics surrounding
the re-establishment of Tuz’s municipality have reached levels of absurdity on
both sides of the political spectrum.
The ruling DPS has managed to have their way with Albanians and their
puppet-representatives by using the promise of a municipality as a carrot to
get what they needed – votes for an independent Montenegro and votes for
sustaining DPS leadership. Along the
way, the municipality spotlight has dimmed the lights on other matters that are
far more important for Albanians in Montenegro, and that a municipality cannot
fix. The fact that Albanians do not have
a special status in Montenegro is concerning.
The constitution allows any minority group, past or present, to be
protected under the same conditions.
This allows any ethnic minority to enter the country, settle where they
choose and if their population is high enough can have a louder voice than
minorities that were there since antiquity.
This problem is plaguing Albanians in Montenegro today. Without a special status that would protect their
territories (especially in the Malësia region), and permanent representation in
any council apparatus, they could very easily (albeit constitutionally) become
erased from the map. What we are seeing instead are (Albanians) politicians
doing what they are good at – chasing (rotten) carrots in efforts to elevate
their political standings (in the eyes of no one that matters) and hoping that
history books (or should I say coloring books) will remember their destructive
deeds.
