Milo Božović, mayor of Budva – © Vijesti
What if the mayor’s office of the most important tourist city in Montenegro was a prison cell? This is exactly what is happening in Budva, after the incumbent mayor was arrested last year, without having lost his duties
Known as the tourist capital of Montenegro, Budva is probably the only city in the world to be governed by a prisoner. Milo Božović, mayor of Budva, was arrested on 13 April 2023 and, having never been dismissed to this day, in his cell in Spuž prison, he continues to sign documents that allow the local administration to carry out its functions .
Božović was arrested at the request of the Special Prosecutor’s Office of Montenegro on suspicion of involvement in organized crime activities and drug trafficking. “There is a well-founded suspicion that, in addition to the crime of criminal association, Božović has committed three other crimes, such as production, trafficking and illicit possession of narcotic substances,” declared Vukas Radonjić, spokesperson of the Special Prosecutor’s Office, on the occasion of the arrest of the mayor of Budva.
In mid-September last year, the Special Prosecutor’s Office launched a criminal case against Božović and twenty other people, including some police officers, accused of being part of a drug cartel. The charges include smuggling 4.3 tons of cocaine, laundering approximately seven million euros, illegal possession of weapons and threatening public safety.
Milo Božović, 42 years old, an economist by profession, was a councilor of the Budva city council from 2005 to 2020. After the 2016 elections he was also entrusted with the role of municipal manager. In August 2022, after the resignation of mayor Marko Carević, Božović took over the leadership of the municipal council, and in the local elections in October of the same year he was reconfirmed as mayor. Božović was also a member of the Podgorica parliament, elected from the ranks of the pro-Serbian Democratic Front (DF), one of the parties that emerged victorious in the political elections of August 2020.
Before the arrest, Božović was considered a promising politician in whom the DF had high hopes. It is therefore not surprising that the leaders of the pro-Serbian bloc have always expressed strong skepticism towards the accusations made against Božović. “If there is anyone who has no reason to do illicit business, it is Božović. The special prosecutor will have to present a lot of evidence to substantiate the accusations,” said Andrija Mandić – one of the founders of the DF and the current president of the Podgorica parliament – immediately after Božović’s arrest.
At the same time, around four thousand inhabitants of Budva signed a petition demanding that Božović be granted an alternative measure to detention, such as house arrest or seizure of his passport. The signatories underlined that the arrest of the mayor would have hindered the normal functioning of the municipality, warning of the problems that would be created during the tourist season, but also regarding the provision of social and family allowances and free public transport for students and pensioners.
However, the court did not accept the citizens’ requests, deciding to extend Božović’s detention. A provisional solution was reached only when the president of the Podgorica High Court allowed Božović to authorize the payment of municipal employees’ salaries and to sign administrative documents.
Thus, in his cell in Spuž prison, in addition to an agreement for the reconstruction of the main streets of Budva, Božović signed about ten contracts stipulated between the municipality and companies that won several tenders for public works. A few days ago, the imprisoned mayor also signed a contract, for a total amount of three million euros, for the modernization of public lighting.
Within the municipal council there is evidently no political will to remove Božović, or at least to appoint a deputy mayor to put an end to what has turned into a real farce. At the moment there is no way out of this unusual situation to say the least.
So, in addition to its natural beauty, Budva will also be known for the fact that its mayor’s office is located in a prison cell.
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