ZAGREB, November 2, 2018 - The Croat minority in Serbia on Sunday is choosing a new Croatian National Council (HNV), the 29-member umbrella organisation that represents the Croatian community in education, media, culture and the official use of the language.
The leaders of the Croatian minority will be chosen indirectly, by electors. These are ethnic Croats who have gathered at least 60 certified signatures of support from their community.
The Serbian Electoral Commission has found that 82 members of the Croatian community have gained elector status. They will meet in the Serbian National Assembly at noon on Sunday to elect the new HNV.
The new HNV will consist only of candidates from the "Croats Together" slate led by the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina (DSHV) because it will be represented by 78 of the 82 electors. The remaining four electors come from the Croatian Civic Alliance and the Croatian Independent Slate.
The DSHV has gathered about 5,200 signatures of support.
Slaven Bačić, who has led the HNV in the last two terms, is not running for president of the HNV.
The new HNV is being elected indirectly, by electors, because there are not enough Croatian voters registered in the voter roll.
In addition to the Croats, all other 22 ethnic minorities will also choose their leaders on Sunday.
The status of Croats in Serbia has been in focus in recent years, and it is often influenced by the state of wider relations between Croatia and Serbia, which have hardly been fantastic lately.
If you want to know more about the status of Croats in Serbia, click here.
