Djukanovic to Reshuffle Cabinet in Montenegro

Montenegrin lawmakers on Wednesday  will meet to approve a new cabinet after the ruling and opposition parties agreed on forming a transitional government to organize parliamentary elections by the end of this year.

It is expected that MPs at the same session will adopt a special law to legally define the implementation of the agreement and how state resources can be used.

After five month of negotiations, Montenegro's ruling Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, and opposition parties signed an agreement last Wednesday intended to ensure free elections and end a prolonged political crisis.

The agreement was inked by the leaders of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, which was the DPS's former long-term ally but refused to support the government in a no-confidence vote in January, and by the opposition Demos, URA and the ethnic Bosniak party. The Positive party is also expected to sign the agreement.

Another opposition party, the Socialist People's Party, SNP, will not sign the agreement, but will support it  the parliament and will also participate in government.

Under the terms of the agreement, the opposition will be given five ministerial posts before the elections and seats on the management boards of 16 state institutions and six state-owned enterprises, as well as representation on financial institutions such as tax administrations at municipal level.

The opposition said that it had also agreed with the Djukanovic's party that the Special Prosecution for Organised Crime will probe alleged violations of the electoral law and election fraud.

The agreement is expected to restore political stability to Montenegro ahead of the general election following months of protests and declining trust in the...