Croatian parliamentary election, 2000

1992 election • MPs
1995 election Croatian parliamentary election, 1995 -Subsequent changes:The following changes happened after elections:The Croatian Pure Party of Rights gained one member of parliamentThe Croatian Christian Democratic Union gained one more member of parliament*The Serb People's Party lost one member of parliament... • MPs
2000 election • MPs
2003 election Croatian parliamentary election, 2003 -External links:*... • MPs

Elections for the Chamber of Representatives of the Croatian Parliament were held on January 3, 2000. These were the first elections to be held after the expiration of a full term of the previous Chamber.

The ruling Croatian Democratic Union

Croatian Democratic Union

The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...

entered the elections weakened by the Zagreb Crisis

Zagreb Crisis

The Zagreb crisis is the name used to describe a political crisis that followed the elections for the City of Zagreb local assembly held in October 1995...

, street protests and the series of corruption scandals that came to light in the previous parliamentary term. However, the most important factor was the deteriorating health of the party leader and Croatian president Franjo Tuđman, which sparked a succession struggle between various factions within the party.

On the other side, two major Croatian opposition parties - the Social Democratic Party of Croatia

Social Democratic Party of Croatia

Social Democratic Party of Croatia , commonly referred to in Croatia as simply Social Democratic Party , is the largest centre-left political party in Croatia...

and Croatian Social Liberal Party

Croatian Social Liberal Party

Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS is a conservative liberal political party in Croatia. The party is a member of Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party. Its current president is Darinko Kosor, elected to that post in November 2009.-Chronology:The HSLS was...

- had their coalition formally agreed in 1998 and spent more than a year preparing for the elections. At first, they were to run together with the Croatian Peasant Party

Croatian Peasant Party

The Croatian Peasant Party is a center and socially conservative political party in Croatia.-Austria-Hungary:The Croatian People's Peasant Party was formed on December 22, 1904 by Antun Radić along with his brother Stjepan Radić. The party contested elections for the first time in the Kingdom of...

, Croatian People's Party, Istrian Democratic Assembly

Istrian Democratic Assembly

The Istrian Democratic Assembly is a Croatian regional and social liberal political party in Istria. The hyphenated abbreviation IDS-DDI is most commonly used....

and Liberal Party

Liberal Party (Croatia)

Liberal Party was a Croatian political party active between January 1998 and April 2006. During its existence the party ran in two general elections and in each election won two seats in the 151-seat Sabor. LS was a member of Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party...

, but as Tuđman's condition worsened leaders of the SDP and HSLS concluded that they could win elections even without those four other parties which later formed a separate bloc.

Like before all previous elections since the breakup of Yugoslavia, the electoral laws were altered in an attempt to improve the chances for the ruling party; this included a new voting system

Voting system

A voting system or electoral system is a method by which voters make a choice between options, often in an election or on a policy referendum....

and redistricting. The First Past the Post constituencies introduced in the previous election were completely abandoned and Proportional Representation

Proportional representation

Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...

was implemented (with the exception of single representative ethnic minority seats). Croatia was divided into ten electoral districts

Croatian Parliament electoral districts

The Croatian Parliament electoral districts have been in place since the Law on Electoral Districts of 1999.Croatia has 12 electoral districts. Ten of these are geographical districts within Croatia, each providing 14 members of parliament. District XI is for Croatian citizens living abroad, with a...

, all drawn in order to maximise the support for HDZ. Each district had to elect 14 members, with candidates' lists having to win more than 5 % of the votes in order to be represented in the Sabor.

Due to Tuđman's illness and death, the actual date of elections had been repeatedly postponed for constitutional reasons. There were speculations about elections being held during the Christmas holidays in order to have as many Croatian expatriates (traditional HDZ supporters) in the country, but the date of January 3 was chosen as the most suitable. As the day of the elections approached, its outcome became more certain. The campaign was brief and relatively uneventful with the HDZ being visibly weakened and demoralised by the death of its long-term leader. On the actual day of elections the turnout - the biggest since 1990 - indicated the Croatian people's desire to have their government changed.

In the end, a coalition of SDP-HSLS, together with a bloc of four other parties, won a two-thirds majority allowing them to amend the Constitution

Constitution of Croatia

The current Constitution of the Republic of Croatia was adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia on December 22, 1990. It replaced the Constitution of 1974 ratified in socialist Yugoslavia...

and turn the Republic from a semi-presidential system

Semi-presidential system

The semi-presidential system is a system of government in which a president and a prime minister are both active participants in the day-to-day administration of the state...

to a parliamentary system

Parliamentary system

A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....

. A few weeks later Ivica Račan

Ivica Racan

Ivica Račan was a Croatian career politician, leader of the League of Communists of Croatia and later Social Democratic Party from 1989 to 2007...

became the new Croatian prime minister.

Summary of votes and seats

Summary of the 3 January 2000 Croatian Parliament

Parliament of Croatia

The Parliament of Croatia or the Sabor is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Croatia and legislature of the country. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, represents the people and is vested with the legislative power...

(Hrvatski Sabor) election results

Croatian parliamentary election, 2003

-External links:*...

Social Democratic Party of Croatia

Social Democratic Party of Croatia , commonly referred to in Croatia as simply Social Democratic Party , is the largest centre-left political party in Croatia...

Croatian Social Liberal Party

Slavonia-Baranja Croatian Party

Slavonia-Baranja Croatian Party was a regional political party in Croatia.It was founded in early 1990s in Slavonia. It was usually allied with Social Democratic Party of Croatia.From 1995 to 2003 it was represented in the Croatian Parliament....

Croatian Democratic Union

Croatian Peasant Party

Istrian Democratic Assembly

The Istrian Democratic Assembly is a Croatian regional and social liberal political party in Istria. The hyphenated abbreviation IDS-DDI is most commonly used....

Liberal Party (Croatia)

Social Democratic Action of Croatia

Social Democratic Action of Croatia is a Croatian left-wing political party.It was founded by 1994 by members of Social Democratic Party of Croatia dissatisfied with the centrist policies of SDP leader Ivica Račan and his lack of criticism towards Franjo Tuđman.The party had high hopes of...

Croatian Party of Rights

The Croatian Party of Rights is a right-wing political party in Croatia. The "right" in the party's name refer to the idea of Croatian national and ethnic rights that the party has vowed to protect since its founding in the 19th century...

Croatian Christian Democratic Union

Croatian Christian Democratic Union is a right wing political party in Croatia.It was founded in 1992 after the merger of Croatian Democratic Party and Croatian Christian Democratic Party ....

Serb People's Party (Croatia)

Serb People's Party is a political party that represents ethnic Serb minority in Croatia.The party was founded in early 1991 by ethnic Serb politicians opposed to the radical and secessionist policies of Republic of Serbian Krajina. As the conflict in Croatia escalated, SNS quickly found itself in...

(Srpska narodna stranka)
|align="right" |12,396
|align="right" |47.72
|align="right" |1
|align="right" |0.66
|align="right" |
|align="right" |+0.66
|-
|align=left colspan=2|Non-partisans
|align="right" |
|align="right" |
|align="right" |3
|align="right" |1.99
|align="right" |
|align="right" |
|-
|align=left colspan=2 style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|Total
|width="75" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|2,941,306
|width="30" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|70.5%
|width="30" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|151
|width="30" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|100.00
|width="30" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|
|width="30" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|
|-
|align=left colspan=2|Invalid Votes
|align="right" |50,340
|colspan=5 rowspan=3|
|-
|align=left colspan=2|Votes Cast
|align="right" |2,991,646
|-
|align=left colspan=2|Registered Voters
|align="right" |4,244,578
|-
|align=left colspan=8|Source: HIDRA, Adam Carr's Election Archive
|}

Composition of Parliament

Government

Cabinet of Ivica Račan I

The first Cabinet of Prime Minister Ivica Račan was the Croatian Government cabinet announced on 27 January 2000. It was the 7th cabinet of Croatia, and its term ended on 30 July 2002, when it was reconstructed and replaced by Cabinet of Ivica Račan II...

Opposition

Opposition (Croatia)

The Opposition in Croatia is a term used to describe political parties represented in Parliament which are not a part of the government supported by the parliamentary majority....

Government:		SDP Social Democratic Party of Croatia Social Democratic Party of Croatia , commonly referred to in Croatia as simply Social Democratic Party , is the largest centre-left political party in Croatia...		HSLS Croatian Social Liberal Party Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS is a conservative liberal political party in Croatia. The party is a member of Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party. Its current president is Darinko Kosor, elected to that post in November 2009.-Chronology:The HSLS was...		PGS		SBHS Slavonia-Baranja Croatian Party Slavonia-Baranja Croatian Party was a regional political party in Croatia.It was founded in early 1990s in Slavonia. It was usually allied with Social Democratic Party of Croatia.From 1995 to 2003 it was represented in the Croatian Parliament....		HSS Croatian Peasant Party The Croatian Peasant Party is a center and socially conservative political party in Croatia.-Austria-Hungary:The Croatian People's Peasant Party was formed on December 22, 1904 by Antun Radić along with his brother Stjepan Radić. The party contested elections for the first time in the Kingdom of...		IDS Istrian Democratic Assembly The Istrian Democratic Assembly is a Croatian regional and social liberal political party in Istria. The hyphenated abbreviation IDS-DDI is most commonly used....		HNS		Liberal Liberal Party (Croatia) Liberal Party was a Croatian political party active between January 1998 and April 2006. During its existence the party ran in two general elections and in each election won two seats in the 151-seat Sabor. LS was a member of Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party...		Minorities

Opposition:		HDZ Croatian Democratic Union The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...		HSP Croatian Party of Rights The Croatian Party of Rights is a right-wing political party in Croatia. The "right" in the party's name refer to the idea of Croatian national and ethnic rights that the party has vowed to protect since its founding in the 19th century...		HKDU Croatian Christian Democratic Union Croatian Christian Democratic Union is a right wing political party in Croatia.It was founded in 1992 after the merger of Croatian Democratic Party and Croatian Christian Democratic Party ....

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