MANS

A parliamentary committee has demanded a hearing with the head of the Anti-Corruption Agency, Sreten Radonjic, on Wednesday, following claims by the opposition and human rights watchdogs that corruption remains pervasive in the public administration and the courts.

Montenegro's Basic Court on Friday temporarily banned distribution of the editions of Informer in which Vanja Calovic, the head of a prominent NGO and a well-known government critic, is accused of bestiality - although the newspapers have already been on sale for some time.

Acting state prosecutor Veselin Vuckovic told local media on Monday that the first allegations of violations during the May 25 polls were already being probed and that all claims would be comprehensively checked.

Vuckovic appealed to anyone with relevant information to come forward.

The election commission said on Thursday that it had rejected all 2,400 official complaints from Montenegrin watchdog organisation MANS because although they were signed by the leader of the opposition Democratic Front, Miodrag Lekic, they were submitted by MANS activists.

The director of MANS, Vanja Calovic, along with activists Dejan Milovac and Vuk Maras, said they were assaulted on Tuesday by a municipal election commission officer to whom they were attempting to hand over complaints about alleged irregularities at the polls on Sunday.

Months of verbal warfare between local watchdog MANS and Montenegro's ruling party Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, ahead of May’s local elections in the capital, peaked on Wednesday with mutual accusations about scandals, abuse of state resources and corruption.