Politics

ZAGREB, July 3, 2020 - The Electoral Commission (DIP) said on Friday that people infected with the novel coronavirus would be allowed to vote by proxy in Sunday's parliamentary election. "Anyone who has been diagnosed with coronavirus infection will be able to vote with the help of another person of their confidence, who will fill in the ballot as instructed by the infected person," DIP spokesman Slaven Hojski told a press conference after the Constitutional Court said that DIP had a duty to ensure for infected people to be able to exercise their right to vote. Hojski explained that after a…

ZAGREB, July 3, 2020 - Homeland Movement leader Miroslav Skoro accused the HDZ and the SDP on Friday of agreeing about their interests, although they were supposed to be political opponents, for example, that it was not necessary to amend the election law or revoke their perks. Speaking at the final campaign press conference, Skoro said he was not worried about the election results because he believed in a better tomorrow, but that he was worried about a deep rift in Croatian society given that 50% of eligible citizens did not wish to vote. "We are offering this state the…

ZAGREB, July 3, 2020 - The GONG election-monitoring NGO asked the Constitutional Court on Friday to oversee the constitutionality and legality of Sunday's parliamentary election "because persons infected with coronavirus are being deprived of the right to vote." GONG submitted its request together with signatures by 179 citizens. The state has the duty to find a way so that voters with coronavirus vote by prescribing additional epidemiological measures for contact with them on election day, similarly to the measures prescribed for self-isolating voters, GONG said in an explanation of its request. In a press release, GONG recalled that it had warned in…

ZAGREB, July 3, 2020 - A two-day election silence begins at midnight on Friday and ends at 7 p.m. on Sunday, the day of the parliamentary election. Over the next two days, any campaigning or publication of election result estimates, candidates' photos, statements, or interviews is prohibited.  Over the past two weeks, voters have had the chance to become acquainted with almost 2,700 candidates on 192 lists. The number of lists per constituency ranges from 13 in the fifth to 22 in the seventh. Women make up 41% of the candidates and candidates are 48 years old on average. There are 17…

ZAGREB, July 2, 2020 - Social Democratic Party leader Davor Bernardic who heads the RESTART coalition for the parliamentary election, said on Thursday that he expects the Constitutional Court's opinion on the ban on people infected with coronavirus from voting. "I expect it (the court) to give its opinion in line with the Constitution and that is that all citizens of the Republic of Croatia have to be enabled to exercise their right to vote. That is the only fair and normal thing. The State Electoral Commission (DIP) has to secure those conditions. DIP has to specify the conditions that will apply…

ZAGREB, July 2, 2020 - The Electoral Commission (DIP) said on Thursday that the restriction on voting for people infected with the coronavirus was imposed under the law and served the legitimate purpose of protecting public health from an infectious disease.  "The restriction is appropriate to achieving this goal, and the Electoral Commission's opinion is that it is also necessary," DIP said in a response to GONG, a non-governmental election monitoring organisation that questioned its decision that voters infected with the novel COVID-19 coronavirus would not be allowed to vote in the July 5 parliamentary election. "Any other, more lenient…

ZAGREB, July 1, 2020 - The State Electoral Commission (DIP) on Wednesday partially amended recommendations concerning the arrival of eligible voters at polling stations for the July 5 parliamentary elections in the event that they have a high body temperature. The recommendations have been made for the purpose of preventing the spread of the coronavirus infection. DIP thus recommends that on Sunday morning eligible voters measure their body temperature and in the event that it is higher than 37.2°C and if they also have respiratory symptoms characteristic for the COVID-19 disease, they are supposed to telephone their doctors. Under the amended recommendations, voters diagnosed with…

ZAGREB, July 1, 2020 - The Constitutional Court has requested the State Electoral Commission (DIP) to explain within 24 hours its voting ban for persons infected with coronavirus as part of the oversight of the constitutionality and legality of elections, Court president Miroslav Separovic told Hina on Wednesday. After the Commission's explanation, the Court will make a decision on the Commission's conclusion that infected persons cannot vote at home in the July 5 parliamentary election, unlike voters who will be in self-isolation that day and who also pose a health risk, Separovic said. A number of constitution experts, politicians, and NGOs have warned…

ZAGREB, July 1, 2020 - Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Davor Bernardic said on Wednesday that instructions by the State Electoral Commission (DIP) on voting on election day in the context of the coronavirus pandemic were scandalous, calling on the government to enable all voters to go to the polls. "Should it happen that some citizens are not enabled to vote, elections would be irregular. The government wanted elections, they made the decision and now they have to enable all citizens to participate in the elections in line with the Constitution," Bernardic said. He called DIP's instructions scandalous because he believes…

ZAGREB, July 1, 2020 - During its presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2020, Croatia has shown leadership and secured the best possible results under the conditions unprecedented in history, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic says in an interview for Hina. Croatia took over the EU presidency only six and a half years after it was admitted to the bloc, however, the chairmanship could not unfold as planned, due to the coronavirus pandemic, which had affected the usual functioning of EU institutions and the everyday life of the Europeans. PM Plenkovic underscored that before it…