oZAGREB, 15 May 2021 - Election silence began at 0000 hours on Saturday ahead of Sunday's local polls at which 3.660 million voters are eligible to elect authorities in 576 units of local government.

Election silence is in force until 7pm on Sunday when polling stations close. During this time it is prohibited to publicly present platforms, persuade voters to vote for a slate or candidate, or publish estimates or unofficial election results.

The State Electoral Commission has called on all participants in the elections as well as physical and legal entities and media to respect election silence.

Fines for breaching it range from HRK 3,000 for physical persons, i.e. any citizen, to HRK 500,000 for legal persons, a political party for example. Candidates who breach election silence may be fined HRK 10,000-30,000.

Breaches are reported to local electoral commissions.

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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 candidates in constituency no. 12, where ethnic minorities elect eight members of parliament, and it is already known that the Hungarian and Italian minorities will again be represented by Robert Jankovics and Furio Radin respectively.

The 151 MPs are elected by secret ballot to a four-year term. In the ten constituencies in Croatia, 14 are elected per each constituency, the diaspora elects three, and ethnic minorities eight.

Because of the coronavirus epidemic and the protection measures in force, the July 5 election will be one of the most challenging elections since Croatia gained independence.

The election will be carried out by 75,000 people, voting will take place at 7,000 polling stations in Croatia and abroad, and it will be watched by 8,700 observers.

There are 3.860 million eligible voters.