ZAGREB, 6 April 2022 - Split Mayor Ivica Puljak said that leaders of the party groups in the Split City Council decided at their meeting on Wednesday to hold a session of the City Council next week at which the councillors of his Centre party would tender their irrevocable resignations, adding that he expected the same from the HDZ councillors.

"At that session of the City Council a decision will be made to hold district elections and the proposal is that they be held on 26 June. We will propose that on the same day early elections be held for the mayor and for the City Council," Puljak told reporters.

He noted that today's meeting was not attended by the councillors from the HDZ and the HGS party of Željko Kerum, both in the opposition in the Split City Council.

Puljak said that after next week's City Council session, the councillors from his Centre party would tender their irrevocable resignations and he called on the nine HDZ councillors to resign simultaneously with the Centre deputies. That way 16 councillors would resign, which is the majority of the 31 city councillors necessary to dissolve the City Council, Puljak said.

Second deputy mayor to resign together with HDZ councillors 

Puljak repeated that he and his first deputy Bojan Ivošević would resign by the end of this week to clear the way for mayoral elections.

"My (second) deputy Kuzmanić will prepare his resignation and hand it in together with the resignations of the HDZ councillors," Puljak said, adding that Kuzmanić would do so because the Centre party did not trust the HDZ.

"The HDZ has cheated us and the residents of Split, and not only them but all Croatians, a number of times. Our offer is for deputy mayor Kuzmanić to resign together with the HDZ councillors," Puljak said, noting that that would pave the way to elections for the City Council.

Asked earlier in the day about the political situation in Split and Puljak's allegations that he was interfering in the election process, PM and HDZ party leader Andrej Plenković said that he did not know "what Puljak is hallucinating about."

"I am aware that Andrej Plenković and the government will do everything to take Split again and that in that process they will not hesitate to violate the law, which is what they announced yesterday with the opinion of the Justice and Public Administration Ministry on the government commissioner for Split, contrary to legal experts' view. We are not afraid of Plenković's and the government's interference," Puljak said.

He called the HDZ councillors in Split cowards who were trying to avoid the dissolution of the City Council for fear of voters.

Puljak also said that Plenković and the government would stall for as long as possible and try to prevent early elections in Split being held on the same day as district elections and move them to the summer.

The entire country is looking at Split and the fight against the HDZ, the clientelism, the crime and the corruption, Puljak said, adding that in parliamentary elections in two years' time that fight will spread to the entire country because "citizens are fed up with what the HDZ has been doing."

Asked if he had any political ambitions at the national level, Puljak said that Split was his sole ambition.

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ZAGREB, 31 March 2022 - Split Mayor Ivica Puljak and his first deputy Bojan Ivošević on Thursday confirmed they were stepping down, adding that they intended to run in a snap election.

"This is not an extorted resignation. It is virtually impossible to remove a mayor. I could have remained mayor until the end of the year, the budget would not be adopted and there would be an election for the City Council, which is something we seem to be accustomed to in Croatian politics," Puljak told an extraordinary press conference, confirming his resignation and a fresh election.

"I am not that type of person or politician. I do not want to stoop to that sort of politics," he said and added that he wanted to give Split citizens an opportunity to choose the sort of government they wanted.

"I am not afraid of my citizens. I do not want to be mayor without the support of the citizens. I am certain that we have that support now and will have it in the future," said Puljak.

Referring to Ivošević, who has been indicted for threatening a reporter from the Slobodna Dalmacija daily, Puljak said his deputy did not steal anything nor lied or hit anyone.

"For difficult decisions and in difficult times like this, I always go back to the question of what is true and what isn't. Is it true that the deputy mayor threatened a reporter's life? No, that is not true. The truth is that his communication was inappropriate and inadequate, that is the truth. We have never justified inappropriate communication nor will we. One does not go to jail for things like that," said Puljak.

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ZAGREB, 30 March 2022 - The three members of the Bridge party in the Split City Council have terminated their cooperation with Mayor Ivica Puljak over his failure to resolve the case of his deputy, Bojan Ivošević, and Bridge's local branch has called for a fresh election.

Ivošević has been indicted for threatening an editor of the Slobodna Dalmacija daily.

"Mayor Puljak's actions have presented us with a fait accompli, irreparably compromising our cooperation with him and the executive authority. That's why we are compelled to terminate our cooperation," Bridge Councillor Josip Markotić told a press conference in Split.

Markotić said the only way out of the present situation was a fresh election, and not just for the City Council but also for Mayor. "We insist on this election," he stressed, adding that the election could be held together with local elections in the city scheduled for June.

Markotić said his party had tried to meet with the mayor to discuss the new situation, but "a meeting never materialised."

The councillors from the Smart for Split and Dalmatia party, the We Can! platform and the Ramljak-Marić Independent List said on Tuesday they were suspending their cooperation with Mayor Puljak over his indecision to resolve the Ivošević case.

Markotić said that Bridge had talked to these councillors and they had agreed on their reactions together, "the only difference being that we insist on a fresh election."

Responding to questions from the press, Markotić said they could restore cooperation with the mayor if Ivošević resigned.

For more, check out our dedicated politics section.

April 11, 2021 - An overview of the big events in Croatia from April 5 to 11, 2021. 

The first week after Easter saw Croatia bitter on the tragic death of a 2-year-old girl, followed by a shock of heavy snow fastly coming and fading in Croatia's capital. Dinamo fans were disappointed by the Europa League loss at Maksimir stadium, while Pula is finally starting a big project of connecting its underground tunnels with an important surface site. Citizens of Split saw two candidates coalition together to unify liberal and progressive election bodies.

Highlights of the week: New headmaster of Social Service in Nova Gradiška 

© Ivica Galovic / PIXSELL

Following the tragic death of a 2-year-old girl who was heavily beaten by her mother and neglected by her parents resulted in Marija Jugović taking the position as the new headmaster of Social Welfare Centre Nova Gradiška on Monday. Jugović replaced the former headmaster Branko Medunić, following the controversial decision of returning the girl from her foster family back to her biological parents, who previously neglected and abused her, which ended fatally.

As Večernji List reported, Medunić is still employed in the Centre, and Jugović said on Monday that the investigation by the ministry would show if there were any misconducts in handling the case.

„Medunić is a social worker, and he is currently doing the job according to his occupation“, said Jugović.

Pending the results, Jugović announced lay-offs in the Nova Gradiška Centre. The investigation was expected to be complete by Wednesday.

„It's determined that there were mistakes in the procedure, which was the mistake of the headmaster. We are still waiting for professional findings from Croatian Social Workers chamber and Croatian Psychology Chamber“, said Josip Aladrović, Minister of family and social policies, on Wednesday as a guest On National Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT).

He added that restrictions in the Centre were done immediately based on those findings, and other results are expected to be complete by the end of the week.  

Highlights of the week: April snow in Zagreb brought shock and traffic 

© Bruno Fantulin / PIXSELL

The heavy snow, which was announced but still surprised the citizens of Zagreb thanks to its intensity, caused chaos on Zagreb streets on Tuesday. Traffic was jammed and several accidents occurred. Still, the snow quickly melted away and meteorologists announced warmer weather by the end of the week.  

Citizens of Zagreb were in disbelief of such heavy snowfall in early April, a day after it was a little under 20 degrees Celsius.

Highlights of the week: Ivica Puljak and Bojan Ivošević competing together in Split local elections

© Ivo Cagalj / PIXSELL

Mayoral candidate of Centre Party Ivica will compete in the upcoming local elections for Split Mayor with the independent candidate Bojan Ivošević who aims to be his vice-mayor. As Večernji List reported on Tuesday, the pair said this decision was easy for them as neither one had to betray their beliefs when agreeing to this collaboration.

„In this election, the civil, progressive Split we represent is waking up like never before. We united our teams, Split has a chance it didn't have in decades, and if we don't use it, we won't get another opportunity for four years, maybe even longer. We have to take this chance“, said Ivica Poljak.

Bojan Ivošević is confident they will win elections and „return freedom to the citizens of Split and end trading authority in Split“.

Highlights of the week: Construction of connecting Kaštel fort with underground tunnels ongoing in Pula

© Sasa Miljevic / PIXSELL

One of the most interesting tourist projects this year is taking place in Pula. Fort Kaštel is being connected with a network of underground tunnels that date back from the Austro-Hungarian times when Pula was the main military port. After the project was announced as early as 2019, the shaft where there will be a tourist elevator that will connect the fort with tunnels was finally been pierced last Friday.

Highlights of the week: Dinamo defeated by Villareal

© Goran Stanzl / PIXSELL

After the brilliant victory against Tottenham, Dinamo's luck and skill took a blow in the clash with Villareal on Thursday.  

Despite Dinamo handling well against the first attempt of Villareal and few risky shots aimed at Zagreb's gate, it all went well until the very end of half-time when Moreno scored for the Spanish club, taking advantage of a penalty Dinamo received for Theophile's handball.

Dinamo didn't manage to level the result or turnover the game but reduced the loss to the lowest possible outcome. Whether Dinamo is able to come on top against Villareal will be known next Thursday when they visit Villareal in Spain.

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