Croatia
Introduction
Since the introduction of parliamentary democracy in 1990 when
free democratic multiparty elections were held in Croatia, elections
for the Croatian Parliament, presidential elections and elections
for the representative bodies of local self-government units have
been conducted regularly until the present pursuant to the Constitution
and the relevant election legislation. In the meantime, election
legislation has been amended several times reflecting the increasing
trend of the number of representatives elected through the system
of proportional representation in relation to the number of representatives
elected through the majority system on both the national and local
levels. Nevertheless, the stabilization of the election system
after 1999 ensured the peaceful transfer of power after the parliamentary
elections in 2000 and 2003.
The 1990 Constitution of the Republic of Croatia prescribed the
basic principles and institutes of the election system reflecting
the achievements of the election legislation and the systems of
developed European democracies and their constitutional solutions.
All Croatian citizens who have reached the age of 18 years have
general and equal suffrage. In relation to the conditions for
the acquisition of suffrage, active and passive suffrages have
been made equal. Suffrage is exercised through direct elections
by secret ballot (Article 45, paragraph 1 of the Constitution),
and the system of direct elections and the secret ballot are constitutional
categories that may not be amended by election legislation.
General suffrage means that all adult citizens with disposing
capacity have suffrage regardless of gender, race or religion,
wealth, social origin or level of education; while equal suffrage
means that each voter has one vote, i.e. that he or she may not
vote twice or more times. Voters vote directly for the nominated
candidates, that is, they do not elect electors of any kind to
vote on their behalf at their own discretion on the second level
of elections, and the voting is secret which is one of the basic
democratic principles of election law and a precondition for an
independent decision by the voters in elections.
Taking into account the fact that a large number of Croatian citizens
have domicile or temporary residence abroad, the Constitution
of the Republic of Croatia, in a manner similar to other constitutions
of democratic countries with significant emigration, provides
for the obligation to ensure suffrage to its citizens who are
abroad at the time of the elections. This obligation of the authorized
authorities of the Republic must, according to the Constitution,
be realized as a rule in such a way that Croatian citizens may
vote in the countries in which they are residing or in any other
manner specified by law (Article 45, paragraph 2 of the Constitution).
When the election legislation now in force was adopted in 1999,
the political parties reached a consensus on the manner of realization
of this constitutional guarantee by means of the application of
what is termed the system of unfixed quota.
Pursuant to the Constitution, the laws regulating elections are
adopted by the Croatian Parliament as organic laws by a majority
vote of all representatives, as opposed to laws which do not belong
to this category, and which are adopted by a majority vote of
all representatives present, provided that a majority quorum is
present, the practical consequence of which is that all other
laws must follow the solutions set by such an organic law since
its legal force is stronger.
The election of the President of the Republic of
Croatia
The election of the President of the Republic of Croatia is regulated
by the Act on the Election of the President of the Republic of
Croatia ( Zakon o izboru Predsjednika Republike Hrvatske, Official
Gazette Nos. 22/92, 42/92, 71/97, 69/04 Decision of the CCRC and
99/04 Correction of the Decision of the Constitutional Court of
the Republic of Croatia).
Constitutional provisions on the election of the
President of the Republic of Croatia
The constitutional provisions regulating the election of the President
of the Republic are not only general, but they also define the
manner of the election. Pursuant to Article 94 of the Constitution
of the Republic of Croatia "The President of the Republic
of Croatia is elected on the basis of general and equal suffrage
at direct elections by secret ballot for a term of 5 years. No
one shall be elected the President of the Republic more than twice.
The President is elected by the majority of votes of all the voters
who voted. If none of the candidates wins this majority, the elections
are repeated after 14 days. The two candidates who won the most
votes at the first election have the right to run at the repeated
election. If one of the candidates withdraws his or her candidature
before the second round, the next candidate, according to the
number of votes received, has the right to run. The elections
for the President of the Republic of Croatia are conducted not
less than 30 and not more than 60 days before the expiration of
the mandate. Before assuming duty, the President of the Republic
shall take a solemn oath swearing his loyalty to the Constitution.
The election of the President of the Republic, the oath and its
swearing shall be regulated by law. ”
The direct election of the president by voters, and not by the
representatives in the Parliament, which is the case in some countries
with a purely parliamentary system, has been maintained since
the constitutional changes in 2000.
Calling of elections
The elections for the President of the Republic are called by
the Government of the Republic of Croatia within a time limit,
which enables for the elections to be held not less than 30 and
not more than 60 days before the expiration of the mandate. The
election day for the President of the Republic of Croatia is set
in the Decision on the calling of elections, but at least 30 days
must pass from the calling of elections until the election day,
in order for all prescribed electoral activities to be carried
out.
Nomination of candidates
Active and passive suffrage have been made equal because, in accordance
with the Constitution, the Act on the Election of the President
of the Republic of Croatia does not prescribe any additional conditions
for passive suffrage, that is the right to be elected President
of the Republic. The candidates for the President of the Republic
may be nominated by political parties registered in the Republic
of Croatia and by voters individually or collectively. Coalitions
are allowed, which means that two or more political parties registered
in the Republic of Croatia may nominate one candidate. The details
for the nomination of candidates by parties are not prescribed,
and it is necessary only that they are nominated in the manner
provided for in their statute or at least in a special decision
adopted pursuant to the statute, thus guaranteeing the simplicity
and democracy of the nomination procedure. Regardless of whether
the candidates have been nominated by political parties or they
are independent candidates nominated by voters, they are obliged
to collect at least 10,000 signatures of voters supporting their
candidature. This is the only additional condition for the validity
of the candidature prescribed in order to ensure the seriousness
of candidatures and to avoid the nomination of marginal candidates
who have no chance of winning the elections. The nominations of
candidates for the President of the Republic of Croatia prepared
in the manner described above must be submitted to the State Electoral
Commission no more than 12 days after the calling of the elections.
The State Electoral Commission shall, within 48 hours after the
expiry of the time limit of twelve days for the submission of
nominations, publish a list of candidates for the President of
the Republic in all daily newspapers in the Republic of Croatia
and on the Croatian Radio and Television. Within the same time
limit, the State Electoral Commission shall submit the list of
candidates for the President of the Republic to all Croatian diplomatic
and consular offices and foreign offices for the purpose of publication.
In accordance with the constitutional provisions on the election
of the President of the Republic, both Croatian citizens with
domicile outside the Republic of Croatia and those with domicile
in the Republic of Croatia, but who are abroad on election day,
may vote. They are given the opportunity to exercise their right
to vote at the diplomatic and consular offices and foreign offices
of the Republic of Croatia.
During the election campaign the candidates for the President
of the Republic of Croatia represent their electoral programmes,
and introduce themselves to the voters - in a word they run an
election campaign. The Croatian Radio and Television company is
obligated, within the framework of its radio and television programmes,
to provide equal time to each candidate for the President of the
Republic to present his or her electoral programme. All other
mass media are obligated to provide all candidates for the President
of the Republic with the opportunity to present their programme
and conduct their election campaign, under equal conditions. In
other words, it is impossible to bind the mass media, such as
the daily and weekly press, by law to quantitatively determine
the space they have to reserve for each candidate running in the
elections. For that reason, Article 14, paragraph 2 of the Election
Act prescribes that all mass media (including the press) are obliged
to enable the candidates to present and explain their programmes
under equal conditions.
The financing of election campaigns
The financing of the election campaign entails a large amount
of money. The origin and real amounts of this money are usually
concealed by political parties and candidates in order to create
the impression in the public that they are being economical in
their campaign and that the money they are investing in their
campaign is of legitimate origin. For that reason, in some countries
there are laws limiting the amounts that political parties or
candidates may invest in the election campaign, and there are
other types of limitations such as prohibition on election campaigns
being financed by foreign legal and natural persons, or by domestic
state administration bodies. Most electoral laws throughout the
world regulate these issues in detail, while this matter was a
loophole in the Croatian electoral legislation until recently.
The new Act on the Financing of Election Campaigns for the Election
of the President of the Republic of Croatia ( Zakon o financiranju
izborne promidľbe za izbor predsjednika Republike Hrvatske, Official
Gazette No.105/04), which is rather deficient, prescribes that
election campaigns are to be financed from the candidates ’ own
funds, and grants from domestic and foreign natural and legal
persons, but it does not prescribe what these "own” funds
are or what kind of grants are allowed, and what their maximum
amount would be. The candidates who receive the number of votes
prescribed by law, that is, at least 10%, have the right to compensation
of the expenses of the election campaign from the state budget,
pursuant to the law and a decision adopted by the Government of
the Republic of Croatia.
Pursuant to Article 17 of the Election Act, the President of the
Republic of Croatia, regardless of whether one or more candidates
are running in the elections, is elected by the majority of votes
of all voters who voted, that is by the system of absolute majority.
If none of the candidates wins this majority, the elections are
repeated after 14 days (what is termed as the second round), and
the two candidates who won the most votes at the first round of
voting have the right to run at the repeated elections, and if
one of the candidates withdraws his or her candidature before
the second round, the next candidate, according to the number
of votes received, has the right to run. However, if only one
candidate remains in the repeated elections because of the withdrawal
of a candidate, the elections will take place. At the repeated
election the candidate who receives the majority of votes of all
voters who voted wins.
Elections of the Croatian Parliament
The election of Members of the Croatian Parliament is prescribed
by the Act on the Election of Members of the Croatian Parliament
( Zakon o izborima zastupnika u Hrvatski sabor, Official Gazette
No. 69/03 - amended text).
The evolution of the election system for the Croatian
Parliament
It is necessary to give a short overview of the development of
the Croatian election system from the first multiparty democratic
elections, which were held in Croatia in 1990 after the fall of
the communist system. Pursuant to the Act on the Election and
Dismissal of Board Members and Members of Parliament (Zakon o
izboru i opozivu odbornika i zastupnika) of 15 February 1990,
all Members of the three Councils of the then Parliament were
elected by the system of absolute majority. That is why Croatia
was divided into 356 constituencies (for the Council of Municipalities
there were 116 constituencies, for the Socio-political Council
there were 80, and 160 for the Council of Associated Labour) in
which one Member of Parliament was elected from several candidates.
The elections were held on 22 and 23 April (first round) and 6
and 7 May 1990 (second round). In those constituencies in which
none of the candidates received an absolute majority the elections
had to be repeated in the second round, naturally only between
the two candidates who received the majority of votes in that
constituency in the first round.
The system of absolute majority was not retained in the next elections
because the desire was to create a democratic election system
that would generate a stable executive power, and, therefore,
a new Election Act was adopted in 1992 introducing a mixed election
system into the Croatian election system, meaning that half of
the Members of the then House of Representatives of the Croatian
Parliament was elected by a system of relative majority, while
the other half was elected by the system of proportional representation.
Therefore, at the elections held on 2 August 1992, 64 Members
of Parliament were elected in 64 constituencies throughout Croatia
by a relative majority (as well as 4 Members of Parliament of
national minorities), and 64 were elected from the election lists
nominated by political parties and voters and which contained
64 candidates each, along with a threshold clause of 3%. In addition
to them, Members of Parliament representing national minorities
were also elected. By the introduction of the mixed election system,
which is more democratic than the absolute majority system, the
candidates nominated by smaller political parties were also given
the opportunity to be elected at least on state lists, depending
on the votes won by their list, since their chances for election
in constituencies by a relative majority were significantly smaller
in relation to the candidates nominated by big parties.
The mixed election system was kept at the elections for the House
of Representatives of the Croatian Parliament on 28 October 1995,
but an amendment to the Act on the Election of Members of Parliament
changed the numerical relation of the Members of Parliament elected
by the system of proportional representation, and by relative
majority. Instead of the former relation of fifty-fifty, the amendment
introduced was that only a quarter of Members of Parliament, that
is 28 of them, were to be elected in the same number of constituencies
by the system of relative majority, and the remaining three quarters
of Members of Parliament, that is 80 of them, were to be elected
from the election lists by the system of proportional representation.
Another 12 Members of Parliament were added, who were elected,
pursuant to the provisions of Article 45, paragraph 2 of the Constitution,
by the Croatian citizens with residence outside Croatia in a special
constituency, also by the system of proportional representation.
In order to stabilise the system of the then House of Representatives
after the increase of the share of the system of proportional
representation, the threshold clause was increased to 5% of the
votes for the election lists of one party, while the threshold
clause of 8% applied to coalition lists of two parties, and the
threshold clause of 11% applied to coalition lists of three or
more parties, which was justified by the desire to influence the
stability of the executive power, that would follow from this
kind of system of the Croatian Parliament elected in its majority
part by the system of proportional representation.
The elections for the then House of Representatives of the Croatian
Parliament on 3 January 2000 were conducted pursuant to the provisions
of a new Act on the Election of Members of Parliament (Zakon o
izboru zastupnika), pursuant to which the elections on 23 November
2003 were held with minor adjustments after the constitutional
changes. Croatia has thus become a country with a proportional
election system.
The introduction of this election system is the consequence of
the desire of the public for the creation of a new, fairer election
model. The pure proportional system was applied, and the state
territory divided into ten constituencies in which 14 Members
of Parliament are elected. There is also an eleventh constituency
consisting of Croatian citizens with residence outside the Republic
of Croatia, and the Members of Parliament elected in that constituency
(14 at the most) are elected by what is termed the unfixed quota.
There is also a twelfth constituency in which Members of Parliament
representing national minorities in Croatia elect their representatives,
who are the only Members of Parliament elected by the system of
relative majority. The institution of a single, moderate threshold
clause of 5% was incorporated into the new Act on the Election
of Members of Parliament.
Suffrage
In the elections for the Members of the Croatian Parliament suffrage
is also general and equal, and all Croatian citizens aged 18 years
and over are vested with it. Active and passive suffrage have
been made equal because, pursuant to the Constitution, the Act
on the Election of Members of the Croatian Parliament (hereinafter:
the Act on the Election of Members of Parliament) does not provide
for any additional conditions for passive suffrage, that is, the
right to be elected Member of Parliament (Article 4 of the Act
on the Election of Members of Parliament). The institute of Member
of Parliament incompatibility, as provided for by Article 9 of
the Act on the Election of Members of Parliament is not a limitation
of passive suffrage.
The mandates of Members of Parliament and incompatibility
Members of Parliament do not have a binding, that is, imperative,
but have free mandate (Article 74 of the Constitution, Article
2, paragraph 2 of the Act on the Election of Members of Parliament)
meaning that Members of Parliament do not have responsibility
toward their voters, their mandate is irrevocable and they are
not obliged to represent the views or possible instructions of
their voters.
The termination of a Member of Parliament’s mandate is regulated
by prescribing the conditions that are usual in modern democratic
election legislation. The mandate terminates prior to the expiry
of the term for which the Member of Parliament was elected if
the Member of Parliament or a councillor resigns, if he or she
is deprived of disposing capability by a legally effective court
decision, and if he is sentenced by a legally effective court
judgement to a non-suspended sentence of six months imprisonment.
The Member of Parliament’s mandate lasts for four years. However,
pursuant to Article 77, paragraph 1 of the Constitution, the Croatian
Parliament may be dissolved in order to call early elections if
so decided by the majority of all of its Members, and pursuant
to Article 77, paragraph 2 of the Constitution, the President
of the Republic may, in accordance with the Constitution, dissolve
the Croatian Parliament. In each case, the duration of the mandate
is shorter and the election for the Members of Parliament must
be held not later than 60 days after the expiry of the mandate
or the dissolution of the Croatian Parliament (Article 73, paragraph
1 of the Constitution).
The Member of Parliament’s incompatibility has been to a large
extent defined in Article 9 of the Act on the Election of Members
of Parliament and Article 5 of the Act on Local Elections. It
comprises not only the incompatibility of the Member of Parliament
and councillor with judicial or other offices in the judiciary,
with ministerial office or the performance of other duties in
the executive power, but also with the office of career officer
or non-commissioned officer in the armed forces who are appointed
and dismissed as military commanders of the Croatian Army by the
President of the Republic or the Minister of Defence. However,
the Member of Parliament does not lose his or her Member of Parliament
’s mandate by accepting some of those offices, but his or her
mandate is suspended, and performed by his or her substitute.
The substitutes for Members of Parliament are appointed in the
previously described manner. The Member of Parliament elected
from the party ’s election list that accepts an office incompatible
with his or her duty as a Member of Parliament shall be substituted
by a candidate who was not elected from the election list from
which the Member of Parliament was elected, and who was selected
by the political party that proposed the list. The Member of Parliament
elected from an independent list in a constituency shall be substituted
by the first next non-elected candidate from that list, while
the Member of Parliament of a national minority elected by the
system of relative majority is substituted by his deputy, elected
in the same constituency together with him. That kind of system
of realisation of a Member of Parliament ’s or councillor’s incompatibility
was in part taken over from the French system (the institute of
the substitute), and in part represents a Croatian peculiarity
in relation to the suspension and return to the parliamentary,
that is, councillor duty, because, as far as we know, it has been
applied in no other election system.
The institute of suspension was already extended in 1996 by the
amendments to the former Act on the Election of Members of Parliament
allowing Members of Parliament to suspend their mandate due to
personal reasons that need not be specified. This possibility
was retained in Article 14 of the Act on the Election of Members
of Parliament now in force, and the Member of Parliament may suspend
his or her mandate once during its duration by submitting a written
request to the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament. During the
suspension of the Member of Parliament ’s mandate, his or her
duty is performed by the substitute Member of Parliament appointed
under the conditions and by the procedure valid in cases when
the Member of Parliament ’s mandate is suspended because of incompatibility
of his or her duty as Member of Parliament. The mandate may not
be suspended for less than six months, and during that time the
Member of Parliament will be substituted by his or deputy. The
suspension of the Member of Parliament ’s mandate shall terminate
on the eighth day following the day on which the Member of Parliament
who suspended his or her mandate submitted a written statement
to the Speaker for the continuation of his or her duty as Member
of Parliament.
This new institution allowing a Member of Parliament to suspend
his or her mandate once during its duration due to any reason
of a personal nature, has its legal basis in the abovementioned
constitutional provision on the free Member of Parliament ’s mandate
which is not binding, and the fact that substitute Members of
Parliament are elected together with the Member of Parliament
and have the same electoral basis and legal validity as the elected
Member of Parliament, meaning that they can always substitute
him or her. Its purpose is to allow the Croatian Parliament to
work as efficiently as possible by preventing the absence of a
large number of Members of Parliament from the sessions. The councillors
in local representative bodies do not have the same right.
The calling of elections
The elections for the Members of Croatian Parliament are called
by the President of the Republic. At least 30 days must pass from
the day of the calling until the Election Day. The Election Day
is determined by the decision on the calling of elections (Article
5 of the Act on the Election of Members of Parliament). Although
the Act does not provide for the largest possible number of days
that may pass from the calling of elections, but only the shortest
time of 30 days, which follows from the provision of Article 73
of the Constitution mentioned, that prescribes that the elections
for Members of Parliament must be held not more than 60 days after
the expiry of the mandate or the dissolution of the Croatian Parliament.
This provision binds the President of the Republic when calling
the elections. In the period between the calling of the elections
and the Election Day, the State Electoral Commission and other
state administration bodies have the task of organising the technical
conduct of elections, deciding on objections against individual
election actions, and determining the lists of those participating
in the elections by printing and distributing ballot papers and
other election material (registers, ballot boxes and others).
This is time consuming, and it is therefore not appropriate if
the time remaining after the expiry of the deadline for nominations
and publication of candidate lists is too short.
The nomination of candidates
All political parties registered in the Republic of Croatia, as
well as voters collectively or individually, have the right to
propose party election lists for the election of Members of Parliament
to the House of Representatives and the House of Counties on the
day of the publication of the decision to call the election in
the "Official Gazette”. When proposing their lists, two or
more parties may enter into coalitions and propose a joint candidate
list. Political parties nominate candidates for Members of Parliament
and their substitutes as well as councillors and their substitutes
in the manner provided for by their statute or a special decision
adopted pursuant to the statute.
It should be pointed out that when one or more parties nominate
a candidate or a candidate list for the Croatian Parliament the
candidature does not need to be supported by signatures of a certain
number of citizens. In contrast, when a candidate list is proposed
by voters individually or collectively, they have to collect at
least 500 signatures of voters. In addition, political parties,
voters and associations of national minorities have the right
to nominate candidates for Members of Parliament representing
indigenous national minorities and their substitutes. If a candidate
for a Member of Parliament representing indigenous national minorities
and his or her substitute are nominated by voters, 100 signatures
of voters need to be collected for the candidature to be valid.
The proposal for a constituency list for the election of Members
of Parliament to the Croatian Parliament must contain the name
of the list, and the candidates must be listed from 1 to 14. The
name of the list is the full name of the political party, or the
political parties in a party coalition, which proposed the list.
If the political parties use an abbreviated name for the party,
or parties or a party coalition, the name may contain abbreviations.
If the list was proposed by a group of voters, it shall be termed
an "independent list”.
Another two things need to be pointed out: the bearer of the election
list does not have to be a candidate on the list, while a person
may be a candidate only on one list and only in one constituency
(Article 21 of the Elections Act).
The same provisions shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the procedure
for the proposal of lists for local representative bodies (Articles
14 and 15 of the Local Elections Act).
Local elections
The Act on the Election of Members of Representative Bodies of
Local and Regional Self-Government Units ( Zakon o izboru članova
predstavničkih tijela jedinica lokalne i područne (regionalne)
samouprave, Official Gazette No. 33/01, 10/02 - Decision of the
Constitutional Court of RC and 45/03) regulates the election of
members of municipal and city councils, and of county assemblies
of local and regional self-government units.
The election of members of municipal and city councils, and of
county assemblies and of the City Assembly of the City of Zagreb
and of local and regional self-government units has been carried
out after the abandonment of the mixed electoral system in 2001,
mutatis mutandis on the basis of the same election system prescribed
for parliamentary elections, from the nomination of candidates
to the protection of electoral rights. For that reason, even after
the change of the election model, it may still be said that the
Croatian election system is simple in its basis and its legal
elaboration and application are also simple. Another fact is that
the Croatian election system has been stabilised in all of its
basic aspects (the system of proportional representation with
a moderate threshold clause of 5%, well-functioning election procedure,
and the elaborated protection of electoral rights).
Taking into account the nature of local elections at which representative
bodies are elected which, within the self-government scope of
a certain unit, adopt decisions valid in their territory, active
and passive electoral rights differ from active and passive electoral
rights in the parliamentary elections in only one condition. That
condition is residence and the registration in the electoral role
in the place of residence in the territory of a unit (Article
2 of the Act on the Election of Members of Representative Bodies
of Local and Regional Self-Government Units (Official Gazette
No. 33/01, hereinafter: The Act on Local Elections).
The mandate of members of representative bodies of local and regional
self-government units (hereinafter: councillors) lasts for four
years as does the mandate of Member of the Croatian Parliament.
Local representative bodies, pursuant to the Act on Regional Local
Self-Government ( Zakon o područnoj (regionalnoj) lokalnoj samoupravi,
Official Gazette No.33/01), may also be dissolved before the expiry
of the term of four years. The early dissolution of a local representative
body may occur if the conditions referred to in Article 84 of
this Act are fulfilled. If a local representative body is dissolved,
elections must take place no later than 60 days after the day
of dissolution.
The elections for members of local representative bodies are called
by the Government so that they must take place no later than 60
days after the expiry of the mandate or the dissolution of the
representative body of a local and regional self-government unit.
The Election Day is determined by a decision on calling the elections,
taking into account that no less that 30 and no more than 60 days
may pass from the day the elections are called until the Election
Day (Article 4, paragraph 4 of the Local Elections Act).
Bodies responsible for conducting elections
Pursuant to the provisions of the relevant electoral laws, the
bodies responsible for conducting elections are the following:
the State Electoral Commission, electoral commissions of constituencies,
municipal and city electoral commissions and voting committees.
In addition to these bodies which conduct the election proceedings,
there are some other bodies which participate to a certain extent:
the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia decides upon
appeals against decisions by the Electoral Commission of the Republic
of Croatia, and the Ethics Commission, chaired by the President
of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, performs extra-administrative
supervision of the election campaign.
There are some functional differences in the structure of the
bodies conducting the election proceedings, depending on whether
the elections are presidential, parliamentary or local. The Act
on the Election of Members of the Croatian Parliament regulates
in most detail the composition and competence of bodies conducting
the election proceedings, and, therefore, its provisions will
be used for the presentation of their structure, composition and
competence.
The State Electoral Commission and its competence
The State Electoral Commission, as well as other lower-level electoral
commissions, pursuant to Article 45 of the Electoral Act, has
a permanent and expanded composition. The permanent composition
of the State Electoral Commission is composed of the president
and four members, and their substitutes. While the President of
the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia is by virtue of his
or her position the President of the State Electoral Commission,
the members of the Commission, the deputy president and the substitutes
of the members of the permanent composition of the State Electoral
Composition are appointed by the Constitutional Court from among
the ranks of the judges of the Supreme Court of the Republic of
Croatia and other distinguished lawyers who, by the nature of
things, may not be members of political parties. It should be
pointed out the Act on the Election of the President of the Republic
of Croatia has not been amended since 1992 when it was first adopted,
and it does not contain provisions on the expanded composition
of electoral commissions, but ensures the transparency of their
work by the function of the observer, which should de lege ferenda
be harmonised and the expanded party composition should be included
in the composition of bodies conducting the presidential election
proceedings.
The expanded composition of the State Electoral Commission, and
of lower-level electoral commissions, is party related. Pursuant
to Article 46 of the Electoral Act, the expanded composition of
the State Electoral Commission is composed of three representatives
of the majority political party or coalition and three representatives
of opposition parties or coalitions proposed by their agreement,
in accordance with the party composition of the Parliament for
which the elections were called, and of their substitutes. The
expanded composition of the State Electoral Commission is determined
upon the acceptance, determination and announcement of electoral
lists. However, if no agreement is reached on the three representatives
of political parties which are considered to be opposition parties
in accordance with the party composition of the Parliament for
which the elections were called, the election of the three members
of the expanded composition and their substitutes will be decided
by lot before the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia
separately between the candidates and the substitutes.
It should be underlined that, pursuant to Article 46, paragraph
2 of the Election Act, the members of the expanded composition
of the State Electoral Commission have the rights and duties of
permanent members of the State Commission. Therefore, this means
that their responsibilities are also equal.
The State Electoral Commission has the following responsibilities
pursuant to Article 48 of the Electoral Act:
1. to supervise the legality of the organisation and execution
of the elections for Members of Parliament;
2. to appoint members of electoral commissions of constituencies
and county electoral commissions (during the elections for the
House of the Counties);
3. to declare obligatory instructions for the work of electoral
commissions and voting committees;
4. to establish polling stations and appoint voting committees
in diplomatic and consular offices of the Republic of Croatia;
5. to prescribe forms for the procedure of preparation and conduct
of elections;
6. to supervise the work of electoral commissions of constituencies
and county electoral commissions;
7. on the basis of legally valid proposals to publish lists of
constituencies and prepare summarised lists of constituencies;
8. to supervise the regularity of the election campaign;
9. to announce the results of the elections for Members of Parliament;
10. to provide permanent staff tasked with relevant and expert
informing of voters and giving answers related to the conduct
of the voting and the elections, and
11. to perform other tasks provided for by the Election Act.
Electoral commissions of constituencies and their
competence
In the same manner as the State Electoral Commission, electoral
commissions of constituencies have both a permanent and an expanded
composition. The permanent composition of electoral commissions
of constituencies is composed of the president and two members,
and their substitutes. The president, members, the deputy presidents
and the substitutes for the members of the permanent composition
of an electoral commission of a constituency are appointed by
the State Electoral Commission from the ranks of judges and distinguished
lawyers. Although not explicitly prescribed, the lawyers in question
must not be party members in accordance with the general interpretation
rule referred to in Article 45, paragraph 3 of the Election Act,
which regulates the identical situation to the one relating to
the composition of the State Electoral Commission. The expanded
composition of the electoral commission of a constituency is composed
of two representatives of the majority political party or coalition
and two representatives of opposition parties or coalitions proposed
by their agreement, in accordance with the party composition of
the Parliament for which the elections were called, and of their
substitutes. In this case as well, the expanded composition of
the electoral commission of a constituency is established upon
the acceptance, determination and announcement of election (the
law says "party”, which is too narrow) lists. If no agreement
is reached on the two representatives of political parties, which
are considered to be opposition parties in accordance with the
party composition of the Parliament for which the elections were
called, the election of the two members of the expanded composition
and their substitutes will be decided by lot before the Constitutional
Court of the Republic of Croatia separately between the candidates
and the substitutes. In this case as well, pursuant to Article
51, paragraph 2, the members of the expanded composition of the
electoral commissions of constituencies have the rights and duties
of permanent members of the electoral commissions of constituencies.
The electoral commission of a constituency pursuant to Article
53 of the Electoral Act has the following responsibilities:
1. to supervise the legality of the elections at polling stations
in its territory;
2. to establish polling stations at the proposal of municipal
and city electoral commissions;
3. to appoint municipal and city electoral commissions;
4. to appoint and dismiss voting committees;
5. on the basis of obligatory instructions from the State Electoral
Commission to carry out all technical preparations for the elections
in its territory;
6. to gather and add up the voting results at polling stations
in its territory from the municipal and city electoral commissions
and deliver them to the State Electoral Commission, and
7. to perform other tasks provided for by the Electoral Act.
It should be pointed out that the provisions of the mentioned
Article 53 of the Election Act on the competence of the electoral
commissions of constituencies also apply in the appropriate manner
to the electoral commissions of constituencies in which members
are elected representing indigenous national minorities in the
Republic of Croatia. On the other hand, the State Electoral Commission
takes over the role of the electoral commission for the special
constituency in which Croatian voters who do not have residence
in the Republic of Croatia elect their representatives (argument
from Article 48, paragraph 4 of the Electoral Act).
Municipal and city electoral commissions and their
competence
Municipal and city electoral commissions, in accordance
with the model in which they were conceived of as bodies conducting
the election proceedings, represent a link between the electoral
commissions of constituencies and voting committees, and their
competences are determined in accordance with that task. The introduction
of municipal and city constituencies into the structure of bodies
conducting the election proceedings for the Croatian Parliament
(on the basis of the structure of bodies for conducting the election
proceedings provided for by the Act on the Election of Members
of Representative Bodies of Local and Regional Self-Government
Units (Official Gazette No. 33/01, 10/02 - Decision of the Constitutional
Court of RC and 45/03) has facilitated communication between electoral
commissions of constituencies and voting committees, which contributes
to the orderly distribution and return of the election material
(ballot papers, minutes on the work of voting committees). And
finally, municipal and city electoral commissions operate more
easily with field data - areas of their territorial competence,
and in that manner facilitate the performance of certain activities
by the electoral commissions of constituencies. The electoral
commissions of constituencies appoint municipal and city electoral
commissions in their territory. Pursuant to Article 55, paragraph
2 of the Election Act, the same rules that apply to the composition
and appointment of electoral commissions of constituencies apply
to the composition and appointment of municipal and city electoral
commissions.
Pursuant to Article 56 of the Election Act, municipal and city
electoral commissions perform the following tasks:
1. propose to the electoral commission of a constituency the establishment
of polling stations in a municipality, or a city;
2. propose the appointment of voting committees in the territory
of a municipality or a city;
3. propose the dissolution of voting committees in cases provided
for by the Election Act;
4. gather data on the elections and submit them to the electoral
commission of a constituency;
5. perform other tasks transferred to them by the electoral commission
of a constituency from its scope of activities.
Voting committees
Voting committees are in charge of the direct execution of the
voting by voters at polling stations, and of ensuring the regularity
and secrecy of voting in accordance with the provisions of the
Election Act. Their composition is party-related, except for the
president of the voting committee who has to be appointed from
among the ranks of non-party persons. Pursuant to the provision
of Article 57 of the Election Act, a voting committee is composed
of a president and four members, as well as their substitutes.
Two members and their substitutes are appointed by the majority
party or coalition, and the other two members and their substitutes
by the opposition party or coalition in accordance with the party
composition of the House of the Croatian Parliament for which
the elections have been called.
Political parties are obliged to appoint members of individual
voting committees and submit their names to the competent electoral
commissions at the latest eight days prior to the day on which
elections for Members of Parliament are to take place. However,
if they do not appoint them, or if they do not submit their names
to the competent electoral commissions, which could suspend the
whole election procedure, these electoral commissions shall appoint
the members of the voting committees by themselves. It is also
prescribed that the president of the voting committee and his
deputy may not be members of any political party, and, if possible,
they should have an educational background in law. Voting committees
for all polling stations, in accordance with these provisions,
are appointed by electoral commissions competent pursuant to the
provisions of the Election Act (those are electoral commissions
of constituencies and the State Electoral Commission which establishes
the polling stations and appoints voting committees in the Croatian
diplomatic and consular offices during elections for the Croatian
Parliament, com.), at the latest five days prior to the elections.
In relation to this it should be mentioned that, pursuant to Article
58 of the Electoral Act, the State Electoral Commission will,
at the latest ten days prior to the elections, announce for the
polling stations abroad which polling stations have been established
indicating which voters will vote at each station, and the electoral
commissions of a constituency, that is county electoral commission,
will do the same for the Republic of Croatia. It is common practice
in this country for these decisions by the competent electoral
commissions to be announced to voters by means of posters, depending
on the place where they live.
The Minister of Defence, pursuant to the provision of Article
59 of the Election Act, shall establish polling stations for voters
serving in the armed forces of the Republic of Croatia; the Minister
of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Communications shall establish
polling stations for voters who are outside the borders of the
Republic of Croatia on Election Day as members of the crew of
maritime and river ships under the Croatian flag; and the Minister
of Justice shall establish polling stations for voters deprived
of their liberty.
Naturally, when establishing polling stations, account should
be taken of the number of voters that are to vote at those stations,
as well as accessibility and the spatial distance from the polling
station. The number of voters that will vote at a particular polling
station shall be determined in the manner that the voting may
be carried out without difficulties during the period of time
set for voting. Finally, as prescribed by Article 72 of the Election
Act, each polling station shall have a special room for voting
which must be equipped and organised in a manner that will ensure
the secrecy of the voting. As part of this system, each polling
station has a number.
The media in the elections - the election campaign
and electoral silence
The role of the media in the elections is important in many ways.
In the first place, the media provide the election candidates
and political parties participating in the elections with the
opportunity to communicate with the voters, and they will use
the media for their election propaganda and to present their election
programmes. On the other hand, through the provision of access
by the media to information on the election proceedings, their
function is realised as an auxiliary service of a kind, enabling
communication by the bodies conducting the election proceedings
with the voters, which represents an opportunity to familiarise
the voters with the details of the voting procedure. In addition,
the media have access to information on objections against the
decisions of electoral commissions, and by insight into the progress
of the proceedings, ensure its openness and transparency in order
to ensure the confidence of the public in the impartiality of
bodies conducting the election proceedings.
In order to ensure the realisation of the abovementioned functions
of the media in the election proceedings, in addition to the general
provisions of special laws providing journalists with the access
to information, individual electoral laws contain provisions on
the election campaign. The election campaign is a formal period
intended for pre-election propaganda initiated by the announcement
of the collective lists of constituencies and ending 24 hours
prior to the Election Day. This is the period reserved for the
election campaign. Any kind of election campaigning, the announcement
of the assessment of the election results, as well as the announcement
of preliminary, unofficial election results, the publication of
photographs, statements or interviews of bearers of lists or candidates
in the mass media as well as quotations of their statements or
written papers are prohibited on the Election Day prior to the
closing of polling stations and 24 hours prior to the Election
Day. The election campaign means, pursuant to the provision of
Article 26 of the Act on the Election of Members of Parliament,
the period in which political parties that have announced their
lists, or candidates, present their election programmes, and introduce
their candidates to the voters - in a word the election campaign
or propaganda. In that sense, pursuant to the provision of Article
27 of the Act on the Election of Members of Parliament, all mass
media are obliged to allow political parties to realise the rights
they have in the election campaign as prescribed by that Act.
In the same manner as many other democratic election laws, the
Act on the Election of Members of Parliament tries to ensure equal
conditions, within the limits of the objective possibilities,
for the election campaign, that is the equal position of all political
parties participating in the elections at this stage of the election
proceedings. Pursuant to Article 28 of the Act on the Election
of Members to the Croatian Parliament, the Croatian Parliament
adopted the Rules on the behaviour of the electronic media with
a national concession in the Republic of Croatia during the election
campaign elaborating and establishing the forms and period for
the following of the election campaign, the manner of presenting
the programmes of political parties, the candidates of party and
independent lists, the candidates for Members of Parliament representing
national minorities, party officials and the rules for broadcasts
with confrontations between bearers of election lists. Since television
and radio have the most important place among the mass media in
the modern world, these Rules, as prescribed by the Election Act,
establish the total time of all broadcasts (spots, pictures from
gatherings, special shows and the like) which may be reserved
in the electronic media with a national concession in the Republic
of Croatia by a majority political party or coalition and opposition
political parties or coalition taking into account that equal
time is given to each individual list participating in the elections.
Other mass media, such as the daily and weekly press, may not
be obliged by law to quantitively determine the space that should
be reserved for each political party participating in the elections.
For that reason Article 27 paragraph 2 of the Act on the Election
of the Members of Parliament prescribes that all mass media (including
the press) are obliged to enable the presentation and elaboration
of their programmes under equal conditions.
Election silence means, as has already been explained, the period
immediately before the elections themselves, and the voting period.
The reason for the existence of this concept, which is not familiar
to all election systems in this form, lies in the desire of the
law maker to allow the voters, in the period immediately before
the elections, and on the election day, to think about who they
are going to vote for independently and without pressure from
the political competitors. In that sense, Article 26, paragraph
2 of the Election Act prescribes that any kind of election campaigning,
the announcement of the assessments of election results, as well
as the announcement of preliminary, unofficial election results,
the publication of photographs, statements or interviews of bearers
of lists or candidates in the mass media as well as the quotation
of their statements or written papers are prohibited on the Election
Day prior to the closing of polling stations and 24 hours prior
to the Election Day. Possibly the most important of the prohibited
actions mentioned during the election silence is the prohibition
of announcing preliminary, unofficial election results, because
that could influence the voters ’ response, or their lack of response
on the Election Day. However, election campaigning on the Election
Day is not prohibited in all countries. It is allowed for example
in Great Britain as well as in some other countries. Nevertheless,
the concept of election silence as regulated by our Election Act
removes the possible foci of manipulation, which, in any case,
contributes to the purity of the election results, not only in
the technical sense, but also in relation to the content.
The right to compensation of election campaign expenses
Pursuant to Article 29 of the Act on the Election of the Members
of Parliament, the right to compensation of election campaign
expenses from the state budget of the Republic of Croatia may
be realised by all political parties that submitted their lists
in at least one constituency for the election of Members of the
Croatian Parliament. The right to the compensation of election
campaign expenses from the state budget of the Republic of Croatia
may also be realised by candidates for Members of Parliament representing
indigenous national minorities elected in special constituencies
and bearers of independent lists. The expenses of the election
campaign must be paid out to political parties at the latest 48
hours after the accepted lists have become final. In other words,
at that time it will be known exactly which lists will participate
in the upcoming elections, since it is possible for any of the
proposed election lists to be cancelled and eliminated from the
elections as a result of an objection regarding candidacy proceedings
or in appellate proceedings before the Constitutional Court.
Political parties and independent candidates for Members of Parliament
representing national minorities may finance their election campaign
from their own funds. The provision of Article 31 of the Act on
the Election of Members of Parliament should be underlined because,
according to that Article, any political party that submitted
lists for the election of Members of the Croatian Parliament must
before the initiation of the election campaign announce general
information regarding the amount and source of its own funds that
it is planning to invest in the election campaign. These data
should also be announced by the same deadline by candidates for
Members of Parliament representing indigenous national minorities,
and bearers of independent lists.
The protection of electoral rights
Under Article 87 of the Constitutional Act on the Constitutional
Court of the Republic of Croatia ( Ustavni zakon o Ustavnom sudu
Republike Hrvatske, Narodne novine, no. 49/02) and Article 83
of the Act on the Election of Members of Parliament, and Article
43 of the Act on the Election of the President of the Republic,
the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia supervises
the constitutionality and legality of elections. Also, on the
basis of the provisions mentioned, the Constitutional Court decides
on election disputes, when it decides upon appeals against the
decision of competent electoral commissions
Any political party who has proposed a list in a constituency
or a county list (for elections for the House of Counties), holders
of independent lists and candidates for Members of Parliament
from the ranks of indigenous national minorities may file an objection
against an irregularity in the nomination proceedings, or, an
objection against an irregularity in the election proceedings
under Article 84 of the Act on the Election of Members of Parliament
and Article 44 of the Act on the Election of the President of
the Republic. If several political parties have nominated a list
for a constituency or a candidate for the Member of Parliament
from the ranks of an indigenous national minority, the objection
shall also be deemed legally valid when filed by only one political
party.
An objection against irregularities in nomination proceedings
and in election proceedings for Members of Parliament under Article
85, Paragraph 1 of the Act on the Election of Members of Parliament
and Article 45 of the Act on the Election of the President of
the Republic of Croatia is to be filed with the State Electoral
Commission within 48 hours, counting from the expiry of the day
when the action against which the objection was filed was performed,
that is from 00:00 hours of the next day. Under Article 85, Paragraph
2 of the Election Act, the State Electoral Commission must render
a decision on the objection within 48 hours from the day when
the objection was received, that is from the day when the election
materials to which the objection relates were received, that is
by 00:00 hours of the next day.
If, when deciding on the objection under Article 86 of the Act
on the Election of Members of Parliament and Article 46 of the
Act on the Election of the President of the Republic of Croatia,
the State Electoral Commission finds that there have been irregularities
which have substantially influenced or could have influenced the
election results, it will annul the actions and order these actions
to be repeated within a certain time limit which must enable the
elections to be held on the day for which they were called. If
it is impossible to repeat the annulled actions, or if the irregularities
relate to the voting proceedings and they have substantially influenced,
or could have influenced the result of the elections, the State
Electoral Commission shall annul the elections and set a time
limit within which the elections are to be repeated.
Under Article 48, Point 8 of the Act on the Election of Members
of Parliament and Article 22 of the Act on the Election of the
President of the Republic, the State Electoral commission is responsible
for the supervision of the regularity of the election campaign.
In addition to it, it is authorized by this provision to issue
certain communications, and to warn the participants in the election
campaign of possible irregularities which they could commit during
the election campaign, The State Election Commission is also competent
to decide on objections against irregularities in the election
campaign which may be filed by the same persons or entities who
may file objections against irregularities in the nomination proceedings,
or in the election proceedings (see 3.1 above). These objections
are also filed within the same, short time limit of 48 hours from
the expiry of the day when the action was performed that is when
the rule on the election campaign was violated, against which
action the objection was filed. However, the State Electoral Commission
does not have the authority to sanction participants in the election
campaign who violate the rules regulating its conduct, or any
other rules connected with the campaign, but it may only state
in its decision on the objection filed, whether the conduct of
the participants in the election campaign, which is the subject
of the objection, was in accordance with the rules on election
campaigns. Thereby, the decision of the State Electoral Commission
in such cases is not a real sanction. It only has a moral dimension
in the eyes of the voters that is the public. In this context,
the roles of the State Electoral Commission and the Ethics Commission
from Articles 90 -93 of the Election Act, which conducts extra-administrative
supervision of the election campaign, are complementary.
In addition to the election legislation mentioned, Article 91,
Paragraph 1 of the Constitutional Act on the Constitutional Court
of the Republic of Croatia provides that political parties, candidates,
at least 100 voters or at least 5% of the voters of a constituency
in which elections are being held, may file an appeal with the
Constitutional Court against a decision of the competent electoral
commission for the protection of electoral rights (electoral dispute).
Under Article 87 of the Election Act, the person or entity that
file the objection may file an appeal with the Constitutional
Court of the Republic of Croatia both in the proceedings upon
the objection against the irregularity in nomination proceedings
or in election proceedings or upon objections against irregularities
in the election campaign. This appeal is filed with the Constitutional
Court through the State Commission, within 48 hours counting from
the expiry of the day when the challenged ruling was received,
that is by 00:00 hours of the next day. The Constitutional Court
of the Republic of Croatia must render a decision on the appeal
within 48 hours from the date of its receipt, that is by 00:00
hours of the next day. Identical provisions on the procedure for
filing an appeal with the Constitutional Court are contained in
Article 91, Paragraphs 2-4 of the Constitutional Act. Article
5 of this Act also provides that the decision of the Constitutional
Court upon appeal preempts the right to lodge a constitutional
compliant. Otherwise if the constitutional complaint were permitted,
the conduct of the election proceedings would be legally uncertain
and thereby paralyzed.
It is important to point out that due to the principle of the
concentration of election proceedings and individual electoral
actions, to which the short time limits of 48 hours to file objections
and appeals have been adjusted, and also for rendering decisions
upon them, an objection or appeal lodged in the proceedings for
the protection of electoral rights, do not have, under Article
88 of the Election Act, any suspensive effect, that is they do
not postpone the conduct of election actions which are provided
in the Election Act. Also, under article 89 of the Constitutional
Act on the Constitutional Court, administrative tax is not paid
for submissions and decisions in individual proceedings conducted
under the provisions of the Election Act. Under Article 88 of
the Constitutional Act on the Constitutional Court, political
parties, candidates, not less than 100 voters or not less than
5 percent of the voters of the constituency in which the elections
are held, are authorized during the elections, not later than
by the expiry of the term of 30 days from publishing the results
of the elections (this is referring to the final official results
published in Narodne novine), to request the Constitutional Court
to undertake relevant measures, performing an examination of the
constitutionality and legality of the elections, if the electoral
activities are being carried out in discordance with the Constitution
and the law. In this context, under Article 86 of the Constitutional
Act on the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia, when
it ascertains that the participants in the elections are acting
contrary to the Constitution and the law, it shall inform the
public through the media, if needed warn the competent bodies,
and if there has been a violation which has influenced or might
have influenced the results of the elections, shall annul all
or individual electoral activities and decisions, which preceded
this violation. During the elections so far the Constitutional
Court has, at this level of the control of the election campaign,
issued communications to the public, or communications and warnings
to the public and individual bodies of election proceedings, by
which it requested them to abide by the law by their specific
conduct, according to legal opinions taken by the Constitutional
Court itself. In this way, it introduced the practice that political
parties would, when this suited them, address the Constitutional
Court through requests for control of the constitutionality and
legality of the election campaign, avoiding the State Electoral
Commission, which was not entirely in the spirit of the designed
system of legal action laid down in the election legislation in
force.
As regards the protection of electoral rights at local elections,
the following should be said: the Constitutional Court of the
Republic of Croatia conducts general control of the constitutionality
and legality of members of representative bodies of local units
and decides disputes in accordance with the law.
Under Article 52 of the Act on Local Elections the political parties
who proposed the list, two or more political parties who proposed
the coalition list, and holders of independent lists may file
objections against irregularities in the nomination proceedings.
An objection against irregularities in election proceedings may
only be filed by those political parties whose lists of candidates
were subject to voting at elections, as well as holders of independent
lists, who were subject to voting.
If a list of candidates was proposed by several political parties,
the objection shall also be deemed legally valid when it is submitted
by only one political party. Political parties shall determine,
on the basis of their statutes, which should be deemed authorized
to file objections, while holders of independent lists file objections
personally.
Under Articles 54 and 55 of the Act on Local Elections, objections
against irregularities in nomination proceedings and in proceedings
for the election of members of representative bodies of constituencies
are submitted to the competent electoral commission within 48
hours from the expiry of the day when the action against which
the objection was submitted was performed. The competent electoral
commission designated by the Act must render a decision on the
objection within 48 hours from the date the objection was served,
or from the day when the election materials relating to the objection
were served on it.
If the competent electoral commission, deciding on the objection,
finds irregularities that have substantially affected the election
results, it will annul the actions in these proceedings and order
these actions to be repeated within a time limit, which must ensure
the holding of the elections on the day for which they were called.
If it is impossible to repeat the annulled actions from the previous
paragraph or if the irregularities relate to the voting proceedings,
and they substantially affected the election results, the competent
electoral commission will annul the elections and fix a time limit
for holding repeated elections.
As in case of the elections for the Croatian Parliament and the
President of the Republic, under Article 56 of the Local Elections
Act a person or entity who submitted an objection and is dissatisfied
with this decision, has the right to appeal to the Constitutional
Court of the Republic of Croatia. In this case, the appeal is
to be lodged with the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Croatia within 48 hours, counting from the day when the challenged
ruling was received. The appeal is submitted through the competent
electoral commission. The Constitutional Court of the Republic
of Croatia must render a decision on the appeal within 48 hours
from its receipt.
It is important to point out that objections and appeals lodged
in proceedings for the protection of electoral rights do not postpone
the performance of prescribed electoral actions. Finally, under
Article 58 of the Local Elections Act, if it is established during
the mandate of a representative body that in the nomination or
election proceedings any of its members did not meet any of the
conditions for nomination or election prescribed by this Act,
the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia shall render
a decision within 30 days from the receipt of the proposal, declaring
the termination of his or her mandate. Political parties and holders
of independent lists who participated in the elections for the
representative body may file a proposal for the rendering of a
decision by the Constitutional Court.
The role of the IT system in the holding of elections
and declaring election results
The application of IT systems in the preparation and holding of
elections and software applications designed particularly for
this purpose is a conditio sine qua non for the modern, rational
organization of election procedure as prescribed by law and the
declaration of election results. IT systems managed by special
teams of IT experts are an indispensable technical service in
the communication procedure between the election proceedings bodies
at all levels, and in the determination of the election results
of individual candidates or lists in individual constituencies,
depending on the type of elections.
In the elections so far, the IT system has been developed and
professional IT staff trained. They are auxiliary services of
the State Electoral Commission and the electoral commissions of
constituencies. The basic principle on which these services operate
is transparency. The work of these services is subject to multiple
controls during the elections themselves, as well as after the
election results have been declared, with a view to building confidence
in the public in the accuracy of the election results processed.
Conclusion
The period after 1990 in Croatian election legislation is marked
by the development of the democratic election process and the
maturing of the democratic public as part of the election process.
The democratization of the election process is characterized by
a continuous increase of the system of proportional representation
in the elections for the Croatian Parliament, while the moderate
rate of the threshold clause of at least 5% of votes won as a
precondition for a list to participate in the share of mandates,
ensures that only stronger political parties are represented in
the Croatian Parliament, which has direct impact on the stability
of the executive power which stems from the Croatian Parliament.
The democratic character of the elections for the President of
the Republic is ensured by less strict conditions for nomination,
subject to a simple election procedure. For these elections to
be successful, it is not required for an absolute majority of
registered voters to vote, while the fact that the President is
elected at direct elections gives him or her strong political
legitimacy. The stability of the election system
