On Friday, November 8, 2024, the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM) organized a citizens’ assembly to address the issues of partitocracy and political patronage practices in Montenegro. Čedomir Markov, a research fellow at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory (IFDT) and a member of the Active Citizenship and Democratic Innovation Lab (ActiveLab), participated as an expert on the methodology of citizens’ assemblies.
This was the fourth citizens’ assembly organized by CEDEM as part of the “Inclusive Dialogue for the Progress of Society” project, in partnership with the Center for Democratic Transition, with financial support from the European Union and Montenegro’s Ministry of Public Administration. Alongside Markov, policy and reform expert Biljana Papović, community engagement specialist Ana Škoflek Popović, and three Montenegrin MPs – Dragan Bojović, Boris Mugoša, and Darko Dragović – also took part.
The assembly resulted in a set of recommendations focused on public sector employment practices, electoral reform, and education. Participants emphasized the importance of transparency, equal access to public sector job opportunities, accountability among decision-makers, and raising awareness of the harms of partitocracy. More information about this event is available here.
By participating in this citizens’ assembly, ActiveLab members continued a series of initiatives that began in 2020, when they organized assemblies on improving air quality in Valjevo and expanding the pedestrian zone in Belgrade. More recently, they have taken part in citizens’ assemblies focused on Nutri-Score food labeling and combating disinformation.
