General
Nikola Jovanovic, the Mayor of Budva, was assaulted on Friday morning near the town swimming pool, where he had been sitting with friends, police have confirmed. The attack occurred shortly after his appearance on a TVCG television programme.
Police stated that Jovanovic told the Budva Security Department that he was assaulted by several individuals known to him at a cafe in Budva.
According to the statement, Jovanovic sustained injuries, which will be assessed by a medical specialist.
“The Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Kotor has been informed of the incident, and, acting on the prosecutor’s orders, police officers are undertaking urgent actions to establish all facts … as well as to locate and prosecute the perpetrators,” the police said.
Montenegro’s Prime Minister, Milojko Spajic, condemned the attack. “These are alarming situations in which we must set aside political differences and do everything we can to finally build a society where problems are resolved through dialogue, not violence,” Spajic wrote on X.
Police sources told Vijesti that three men were involved in the assault and that Jovanovic sustained serious bodily injuries.
He is receiving treatment at the hospital in Kotor, where he confirmed his condition to Vijesti but declined to comment further.
According to initial information from the investigation, police are searching for three brothers, one of whom is listed as a member of an organised crime group, Vijesti reported.
According to the same source, two of the suspects are reportedly members of New Serb Democracy, the main opposition party in the local assembly.
The attack follows a major political shake-up in Budva. Following local elections earlier this year, Jovanovic formed a majority supported by the Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, a move that sparked fierce opposition from the New Serb Democracy, a party traditionally hostile to the DPS. New Serb Democracy called it a betrayal of the electorate’s will, and it caused visible tensions on the local political scene.