Elections in Croatia
Encyclopedia
Constitution of Croatia
and legislation enacted by the Parliament of Croatia
provide for regular elections in Croatia
for the office of the President of Croatia
, the parliament, county
prefects and assemblies, city and municipal
mayors as well as city and municipal councils. Since 1990, 5 presidential elections were held, as well as eight parliamentary elections, including two for the upper chamber of the parliament, while the parliament was bicameral. Furthermore, there were six nationwide local elections. Croatia is expected to elect 12 members of the European Parliament
after its accession to the EU
unless those elections cannot be held more than six months prior to scheduled 2014 European Parliament election
which are already planned to include Croatia.
The President of Croatia is elected to a five year term, by a direct vote of all citizens of Croatia
, in a two-round system
, requiring runoff elections if no candidate wins more than 50% of votes in the first round of voting. Members of the Parliament of Croatia are elected to a four-year term in ten multi-seat constituencies, with additional members elected in special constituencies reserved for the Croatian diaspora
and national minorities. As of November 2011, applicable legislation provides for election of 151 members of the unicameral parliament
. Out of 25 political parties which won seats in Croatian parliamentary elections held since 1990, only five won 10 seats or more at any one of the parliamentary election. Those were Croatian Democratic Union
, Croatian Peasant Party
, Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats, Croatian Social Liberal Party
and Social Democratic Party of Croatia
. The county prefect
s, city and municipal
mayors are elected to four-year terms, by majority of votes cast within applicable local government units
, with a runoff election if no candidate achieves majority in the first round of voting. Members of county, city and municipal councils are elected to four-year terms, through proportional representation
with the entire local government unit as a single constituency.
Any Croatian citizen aged 18 or over may become a candidate in presidential, parliamentary or local government elections, provided that sufficient number of endorsements by Croatian voters is obtained beforehand. Croatian elections are relatively highly regulated including spending limits, annual donation limits, limitation on number of endorsed candidates and election lists and media coverage regulation. Voting takes place in polling stations in the country and abroad, monitored by an electoral board in each of the stations and numerous observers. Ballots consist of alphabetical list of candidates or election lists with ordinal numbers which are circled to indicate a vote. All votes are counted by hand. State Electoral Commission publishes official results and handles complaints, supported by county, city and municipal electoral commissions during local elections. Decisions of the electoral commissions may be appealed at the Constitutional Court of Croatia.
is elected to a five year term, by a direct vote of all citizens of Croatia
, with a majority vote required to win. A runoff election
round is held in case no candidate secures the majority in the first round of voting. The presidential elections are regulated by the constitution and dedicated legislation, however the latter defines technical details, appeals and similar issues only. Election silence
is in force on the day of the elections and the previous day, ending at 7 in the evening as polling station
s close and exit poll
s may be published after that time. The official title of the president is the President of the Republic .
for the first time on 2 August 1992
simultaneously with the 1992 parliamentary elections. Voter turnout was 74.9%. The result was a victory for Franjo Tuđman of the Croatian Democratic Union
(HDZ), who received 57.8% of the vote in the first round of the elections, ahead of 7 other candidates. Dražen Budiša
, the Croatian Social Liberal Party
(HSLS) candidate and runner-up in the election, received 22.3% of the vote. The second presidential elections
in modern Croatia were held on 15 June 1997. The incumbent, Franjo Tuđman ran opposed by Zdravko Tomac
, candidate of the Social Democratic Party of Croatia
(SDP) and Vlado Gotovac, nominated by the HSLS. Tomac and Gotovac received 21.0% and 17.6% of votes respectively in the first round of voting, and Tuđman secured another term. The third presidential elections
were held on 24 January 2000, to fill the office of the President of the Republic, after the incumbent Franjo Tuđman died on 10 December 1999. The first round of voting saw Stjepan Mesić
, candidate of the Croatian People's Party (HNS) in front, receiving 41.3% of votes, followed by Dražen Budiša of the HSLS with 27.8% of votes and Mate Granić
nominated by the HDZ receiving 22.6% of votes. The runoff election, the first in the presidential elections in modern Croatia, was held on 7 February, when Mesić won picking up 56.9% of votes. Voter turnout in the first round was 63.0% and 60.9% in the runoff. The first round of the fourth presidential elections
was held on 2 January 2005. No candidate secured a first-round victory, however incumbent Mesić enjoyed substantial lead over other candidates as he received 48.9% of votes and the second and third ranked candidates Jadranka Kosor
(HDZ) and Boris Mikšić
(independent
) managed only 20.3% and 17.8% voter support respectively. Ultimately, Mesić won reelection as he received 65.9% of votes in the runoff held on 16 January. The last Croatian presidential election was held on 27 December 2009, with Ivo Josipović
(SDP) picking up 32.4% of votes, followed by Milan Bandić
(independent), Andrija Hebrang
(HDZ) and Nadan Vidošević
(independent) receiving 14.8%, 12.0% and 11.3% of the votes respectively. The second round of voting was held on 10 January 2010, when Josipović defeated Bandić as he received 60.3% of votes.
140 members of the Parliament of Croatia
are elected to a four-year term in ten multi-seat constituencies. The constituencies are defined on the basis of the existing county
borders, with necessary amendments to achieve uniform number of eligible voters in each constituency to within 5% variation. Another constituency is defined for citizens of Croatia living abroad
, however its number of seats was not fixed for the last parliamentary election. It was instead calculated based on numbers of votes cast in the ten constituencies in Croatia
and the votes cast in the 11th constituency, set up for those living outside Croatia. In the 2007 parliamentary election
the constituency elected five MPs. Recent constitutional changes have abolished the scheme and assigned permanently three MPs to the 11th constituency. Additional eight members of the parliament are elected by voters belonging to 22 recognized minorities in Croatia: Serb minority
elects three MPs, Hungarians
and Italians
elect one MP each, Czech and Slovak minorities elect one MP jointly, while all other minorities elect two more MPs to the parliament. Standard D'Hondt formula
is applied to the vote, with a 5% election threshold
. The last parliamentary election, held in 2007 elected 153 MPs, and the next one, scheduled for December 2011, shall elect 151. Just like in case of the presidential elections, election silence is in force on the day of the elections and the previous day, ending at 7 in the evening when the polling stations close and exit polls are published.
Even though political parties fund their campaigns using donations or own assets, the government also reimburses them for each parliamentary seat won. For the 2011 parliamentary election, each seat will be rewarded with 180,000 kuna
( 24,300 euro
). Smaller sums will be paid to parties or candidates failing to win any seats in the parliament, provided they receive more than 5% of votes in a constituency.
(HDZ) won 205 seats and the Social Democratic Party of Croatia
won 107. Five parliamentary elections were held since for the Chamber of Deputies of the parliament or the unicameral parliament since—in 1992, 1995, 2000, 2003 and 2007. Starting with the 1992 elections, number of seats in the Chamber of Deputies, and later in the unicameral parliament was significantly changed—ranging between 127 in 1995 to 153 in 2007. In Croatian parliamentary elections held since 1992 when number of seats in the parliament was limited to below 160, only 5 parties won 10 seats or more at any one of the parliamentary election. Those were HDZ, Croatian Peasant Party
(HSS), Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats (HNS), Croatian Social Liberal Party
(HSLS) and SDP.
Several political parties, besides the HDZ, HSS, HNS, HSLS and the SDP, won parliamentary seats since the 1990 election. Those are (in alphabetical order): Alliance of Primorje-Gorski Kotar (previously named Rijeka Democratic Alliance), Croatian Christian Democratic Union
, Croatian Democratic Alliance of Slavonia and Baranja, Croatian Democratic Peasant Party, Croatian Independent Democrats
, Croatian Party of Pensioners
, Croatian Party of Rights
, Dalmatian Action, Democratic Centre, Democratic Union of Hungarians of Croatia
, German People's Union – National Association of Danube Swabians in Croatia, Independent Democratic Serb Party, Istrian Democratic Assembly
, Liberal Party
, Party of Democratic Action of Croatia
, Party of Liberal Democrats, Serb Democratic Party
, Serb People's Party
, Slavonia-Baranja Croatian Party
, and Social Democratic Action of Croatia
. Since the parliament seats won belong to individuals rather than parties, there were instances where individuals would become independent
or switch to another political party.
adopted in 1990, Croatian Parliament became bicameral. The Chamber of Deputies had been elected few months earlier and its members enacted legislation creating new territorial organisation of Croatia
. This included counties
that were to be represented by the new Chamber of Counties . The first election of members of the chamber was held on 7 February 1993, with each of the counties acting as a multi-seat constituency, three MPs being elected in each of the counties on the basis of proportional representation
. In addition, the President of Croatia
appointed up to five more members of the Chamber of the Counties to complete its 68-strong membership. The second election for the Chamber of Counties of the parliament were held on 13 April 1997. The Chamber of Deputies was abolished through a constitutional amendment in 2001.
after its accession to the EU
unless those elections cannot be held more than six months prior to scheduled 2014 European Parliament election
which are already planned to include Croatia. The elections are regulated by special legislation enacted by the Sabor. Provisions of the legislation are very similar to the parliamentary election legislation, except, with the main differences reflected in 12 members of the European Parliament elected in a single constituency encompassing the entire Croatia.
prefect
s, city and municipal
mayors are elected to four-year terms, by majority of votes cast within applicable local government units
, with a runoff election
if no candidate achieves majority in the first round of voting. Members of county, city and municipal councils are elected to four-year terms, through proportional representation
with the entire local government unit as a single constituency. Number of members of the councils is defined by the councils themselves based on applicable legislation. Electoral committees are then tasked with determining whether the national minorities are represented in the council as required by the constitution
, adding further members to the council, who belong to the appropriate minorities, selecting them from electoral candidate lists and who have not been elected through the proportional representation
system. Election silence, as in all other types of elections in Croatia, is enforced on the day of the elections and the previous day, ending at 7 in the evening, which is the time when the polling stations close and exit polls may be announced.
Out of six nationwide local elections held in Croatia since 1990, the most recent were the 2009 local elections
to elect county prefects and councils, as well as city and municipal councils and mayors. At that occasion HDZ-led coalitions won majority
or plurality in 15 county councils, and 13 county prefect elections. SDP-led coalitions won majority or plurality in five county councils, including the city of Zagreb council, and the single remaining county council election was won by IDS-SDP coalition. The SDP won four county prefect elections and the city of Zagreb mayoral election, the HSS won three county prefect elections, and the HNS and the HDSSB won a single county prefect election each.
, the official gazette
of the Republic of Croatia. The endorsements are made in a list comprising name, address and personal identification number
(PIN) of each of the citizens supporting a particular candidate. Each citizen may endorse a single candidate. The election commission verifies the endorsement lists, publishes the candidate list in all daily newspapers in Croatia and on the Croatian Radiotelevision
and delivers it to diplomatic missions of Croatia for publication. In case of parliamentary elections, only fourteen member election list
may be submitted to the State Electoral Commission for any number of constituencies in Croatia, in addition to candidates for the Croatian diaspora
constituency and the ethnic minority representatives. In that case, 500 endorsements are required for an election list to become valid. The lists may be supported by one or more political parties or by a group of voters as an independent list. No person may be a candidate on two or more lists simultaneously. The same procedure applies to local elections, except that council election list require 100, 150 and 500 endorsements for municipal, city council and county council lists respectively. The city of Zagreb council is treated as a county council for the purposes of election procedure. Number of the voter endorsements of mayoral and county prefect candidate nominations ranges from 50 for mayoral elections in municipalities of up to 1,000 residents, 100 for other municipal mayoral candidates, 500 for mayoral elections in cities of up to 35,000 residents, 1,000 in cities with population between 35,000 and 100,000, and 2,000 endorsements for cities of 100,000 residents or more, except in case of Zagreb. County prefect election candidates require 2,500 endorsements, and the candidates running for the office of mayor of Zagreb need 5,000 voter endorsements for their nomination to become valid. Candidates running for European Parliament seats need not be Croatian citizens, and may hold citizenship of any Member state of the European Union
while having a permanent or temporary residence in Croatia. Their nominations are valid if endorsed by 5,000 Croatian voters.
provides funding for political parties and non-partisan political representatives in the amount of 0.05% of the previous years budget expenditures. Further funds are appropriated in local government budgets as well. The funds are distributed to elected members of the parliament and councils, and the political parties, with which they are affiliated, receive 10% of the funds. Each election candidate or list must have a dedicated bank account to handle election campaign donations and other related funding as well as all campaign related expenditures. The maximum donation to a single party, candidate or list made in a year is also regulated. In case of natural persons it is set to 30,000 kuna
( 4,050 euro
) regardless of the purpose. Companies and other legal persons are limited to the same amount in case of political campaigns related to local elections, 100,000 kuna ( 13,500 euro) during political campaigns for parliamentary elections or European Parliament
elections and 200,000 ( 27,000 euro) in presidential elections—to any single candidate, party or list, whichever may apply. Total campaign expenditure is also limited to 8 million kuna ( 1.08 million euro) per candidate in presidential elections, 1.5 million kuna ( 202,000 euro) per candidate or election list in European Parliament or parliamentary election constituency respectively, 500,000 kuna ( 67,600 euro) per candidate in Zagreb mayoral elections, 400,000 kuna ( 54,000 euro) per candidate in county prefect or mayoral elections in cities of 35,000 residents or larger and in county seats. Mayoral election campaign expenditure in other cities and in municipalities is also limited depending on the local government unit population: 250,000 kuna ( 33,800 euro) if the population exceeds 10,000 residents, 100,000 kuna ( 13,500 euro) in units of population of 3,000–10,000 and up to 50,000 kuna ( 6,750 euro) in self government units smaller than that. All candidates and parties or election lists are legally required to publish financial reports detailing the funding. The reports are audited by the State Electoral Commission and the State Audit Office.
In 2007 parliamentary elections, the leading political parties reported campaign spending as follows: the Croatian Democratic Union
spent 19.5 million kuna ( 2.6 million euro), the Social Democratic Party of Croatia
spent 15.8 million kuna ( 2.1 million euro), the Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats spent 9 million kuna ( 1.2 million euro), while the Croatian Peasant Party
led coalition reported spending 8 million kuna ( 1.08 million euro) and the Croatian Party of Rights
spent a similar amount.
All presidential election candidates receiving at least 10% of votes are awarded equal sum as election campaign reimbursement. The exact sum is decided upon by the government at least 30 days ahead of the elections. This amount was set to 250,000 kuna ( 33,800 euro) for the purposes of the 2009-2010 presidential elections, representing a 50% decrease from the sum determined for the previous presidential elections, when the reimbursement sum was set to a half of a million kuna. Similarly, the government also reimburses the political parties and election lists for each parliamentary seat won. For the 2011 parliamentary election, each seat will be rewarded with 180,000 kuna
( 24,300 euro
). A sum of 30,000 kuna ( 4,050 euro) will be paid to parties or candidates failing to win any seats in the parliament, provided they receive more than 5% of votes in a constituency. In addition, national minority representative candidates running on the minority ballot failing to win parliamentary seats but still winning at least 15% of votes in their constituency, will receive 27,000 kuna ( 3,650 euro) if the particular minority comprises less than 1.5% of total population of Croatia
. Finally, all European Parliament election candidates and county prefect and mayoral election candidates receiving 10% of votes or more are also entitled to receive reimbursement of costs in the amount determined by the government ahead of each elections.
. In the period, the broadcasters, which include Croatian Radiotelevision
(HTV), RTL Televizija
(RTL) and Nova TV aired 27.8 hours of news in 22 different shows, containing 1,196 news reports. The total included 171 reports dealing with the elections directly. Analysis of the news coverage indicates evenly matched coverage of combined ruling party (HDZ) and the government official statements on one side and the main opposition party (SDP) on the other, each receiving an average of 37.5% share of the coverage and 33% share of interviews aired. HTV and Nova TV gave slight advantage to the HDZ and the government, while RTL gave more coverage to SDP. Still the differences were small and resulted in the matched ratios. Other political parties received considerably less coverage. HNS received approximately 11% of the coverage on average, HSS received 6%, and all other parties received less than 5% coverage. The national television broadcasters normally air shows where all election lists and candidates are allowed to talk about their programmes and may organise election debates.
Paid promotion largely followed this pattern, as the HDZ and the SDP were two dominant parties in that field as well. Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) furthermore noted in its report that the largest parties reported their advertising spending reduced, and that the largest proportion of the expenditure pertains to the television ads. Election silence
is in force on the day of the elections and the previous day, ending at 7 in the evening as polling station
s close and exit poll
s may be published after that time.
deployed abroad, voters on Croatian-flagged ships and imprisoned voters are allowed to vote elsewhere. Other voters residing in Croatia, traveling abroad on day of the elections may vote in diplomatic missions of Croatia. The polling stations are open from 7 in the morning until 7 in the evening, but all voters present at the polling stations at the closing time are allowed to vote. Polling stations may be closed early if all registered voters have voted. Presidential election ballots contain the list of candidates verified by the State Electoral Commission, specified in alphabetical order. For the presidential elections, this entails names and PIN of each candidate along with names of political parties endorsing the candidate, or a note that the candidate is running as an independent
. The names are sorted alphabetically preceded by ordinal numbers. Parliamentary election and European Parliament election ballots contain name of election lists and name of a person heading the list, who is not necessarily a candidate on the particular list. The lists are specified in alphabetical order and preceded by an ordinal number. Voting is performed by circling of number associated with a particular candidate. Ballots used otherwise, but still positively indicating a candidate for which a vote is cast, are also considered valid. Blank ballots and ballots where multiple numbers are circled or where multiple candidates are otherwise indicated are considered invalid. Official results are announced and published by the State Electoral Commission.
A pattern of irregularities has been discovered concerning the updating of the list, when citizens of Croatia turn 18 or die. In 2005, it was estimated that the register contained a large number of irregularities and erroneous entries. Since then, public attention was directed to the issue by NGOs monitoring elections through roundtables and advertisement campaigns ultimately improving the register, but it still allows improvements. Census of 2011 also pointed to a large number of voters in the registry which should not be there, leading to claims that up to a half of a million voters in the registry should not be there.
Further monitoring is largely performed by various non-governmental organization
specializing in election monitoring—such as GONG. Also, there are other monitoring organisations headquartered in Croatia and abroad. Most recently the OSCE set up a limited monitoring mission to observe the 2009-2010 presidential elections. The last parliamentary election, held in 2007, were monitored by 8,540 observers fielded by various organisations and political parties.
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 legislation enacted by the Parliament of Croatia
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...
provide for regular elections in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
for the office of the President of Croatia
President of Croatia
The President of Croatia , officially styled the President of the Republic represents the Republic of Croatia in the country and abroad as the head of state, maintains the regular and coordinated operation and stability of the national government system, and safeguards the independence and...
, the parliament, county
Counties of Croatia
The primary territorial subdivisions of the Republic of Croatia called županije . In English they are commonly referred to as counties....
prefects and assemblies, city and municipal
Municipalities of Croatia
A Municipality in Croatia is known as an općina . Though equal to Croatian Grads in administrative powers, they are usually more likely to consists of a collection of villages in more rural or suburban area, whereas Grads are more likely to cover urban area...
mayors as well as city and municipal councils. Since 1990, 5 presidential elections were held, as well as eight parliamentary elections, including two for the upper chamber of the parliament, while the parliament was bicameral. Furthermore, there were six nationwide local elections. Croatia is expected to elect 12 members of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
after its accession to the EU
Accession of Croatia to the European Union
Croatia applied for European Union membership in 2003, and the European Commission recommended making it an official candidate in early 2004. Candidate country status was granted to Croatia by the European Council in mid-2004...
unless those elections cannot be held more than six months prior to scheduled 2014 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2014
Elections to the European Parliament will be held in all member states of the European Union during June 2014. It will be the eighth Europe-wide election to the European Parliament since the first direct elections in 1979.- Presidential nominees :...
which are already planned to include Croatia.
The President of Croatia is elected to a five year term, by a direct vote of all citizens of Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, in a two-round system
Two-round system
The two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
, requiring runoff elections if no candidate wins more than 50% of votes in the first round of voting. Members of the Parliament of Croatia are elected to a four-year term in ten multi-seat constituencies, with additional members elected in special constituencies reserved for the Croatian diaspora
Croatian diaspora
Croatian diaspora refers to the Croatian communities that have formed outside Croatia.Estimates on its size are only approximate because of incomplete statistical records and naturalization, but estimates suggest that the Croatian diaspora numbers between a third and a half of the total number of...
and national minorities. As of November 2011, applicable legislation provides for election of 151 members of the unicameral parliament
Unicameralism
In government, unicameralism is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a unicameral parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house...
. Out of 25 political parties which won seats in Croatian parliamentary elections held since 1990, only five won 10 seats or more at any one of the parliamentary election. Those were 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...
, 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 – Liberal Democrats, 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...
and 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...
. The county prefect
Prefect
Prefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
s, city and municipal
Municipalities of Croatia
A Municipality in Croatia is known as an općina . Though equal to Croatian Grads in administrative powers, they are usually more likely to consists of a collection of villages in more rural or suburban area, whereas Grads are more likely to cover urban area...
mayors are elected to four-year terms, by majority of votes cast within applicable local government units
Administrative divisions of Croatia
The subdivisions of Croatia on the first level are the 20 counties and one city-county . On the second level these are municipalities and towns . Both of these type of subdivisions consist of settlements...
, with a runoff election if no candidate achieves majority in the first round of voting. Members of county, city and municipal councils are elected to four-year terms, through 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...
with the entire local government unit as a single constituency.
Any Croatian citizen aged 18 or over may become a candidate in presidential, parliamentary or local government elections, provided that sufficient number of endorsements by Croatian voters is obtained beforehand. Croatian elections are relatively highly regulated including spending limits, annual donation limits, limitation on number of endorsed candidates and election lists and media coverage regulation. Voting takes place in polling stations in the country and abroad, monitored by an electoral board in each of the stations and numerous observers. Ballots consist of alphabetical list of candidates or election lists with ordinal numbers which are circled to indicate a vote. All votes are counted by hand. State Electoral Commission publishes official results and handles complaints, supported by county, city and municipal electoral commissions during local elections. Decisions of the electoral commissions may be appealed at the Constitutional Court of Croatia.
Presidential elections
The President of CroatiaPresident of Croatia
The President of Croatia , officially styled the President of the Republic represents the Republic of Croatia in the country and abroad as the head of state, maintains the regular and coordinated operation and stability of the national government system, and safeguards the independence and...
is elected to a five year term, by a direct vote of all citizens of Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, with a majority vote required to win. A runoff election
Two-round system
The two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
round is held in case no candidate secures the majority in the first round of voting. The presidential elections are regulated by the constitution and dedicated legislation, however the latter defines technical details, appeals and similar issues only. Election silence
Election silence
An election silence, or alternatively pre-election silence, electoral silence, or campaign silence, is a ban on political campaigning prior to a presidential or general election. Legally it is a restriction of freedom of speech. For this reason it is considered unconstitutional in many western...
is in force on the day of the elections and the previous day, ending at 7 in the evening as polling station
Polling station
A polling place or polling station is where voters cast their ballots in elections.Since elections generally take place over a one- or two-day span on a periodic basis, often annual or longer, polling places are often located in facilities used for other purposes, such as schools, churches, sports...
s close and exit poll
Exit poll
An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. Unlike an opinion poll, which asks whom the voter plans to vote for or some similar formulation, an exit poll asks whom the voter actually voted for. A similar poll conducted before actual...
s may be published after that time. The official title of the president is the President of the Republic .
2009-10 Presidential election
Previous presidential elections
Presidential elections were held in CroatiaCroatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
for the first time on 2 August 1992
Croatian presidential election, 1992
Presidential elections were held in Croatia for the first time on 2 August 1992 alongside simultaneous parliamentary elections. The result was a victory for Franjo Tuđman of the Croatian Democratic Union , who received 57.8% of the vote...
simultaneously with the 1992 parliamentary elections. Voter turnout was 74.9%. The result was a victory for Franjo Tuđman of the 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...
(HDZ), who received 57.8% of the vote in the first round of the elections, ahead of 7 other candidates. Dražen Budiša
Dražen Budiša
Dražen Budiša is a Croatian politician who used to be leading opposition figure in the 1990s and a two-time presidential candidate.-During Yugoslavia:...
, the 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...
(HSLS) candidate and runner-up in the election, received 22.3% of the vote. The second presidential elections
Croatian presidential election, 1997
Presidential elections were held in Croatia on 15 June 1997. The result was a victory for Franjo Tuđman of the Croatian Democratic Union , who received 61.4% of the vote. Voter turnout was 54.6%.-Results:...
in modern Croatia were held on 15 June 1997. The incumbent, Franjo Tuđman ran opposed by Zdravko Tomac
Zdravko Tomac
Zdravko Tomac is a Croatian politician.A native of Slavonski Brod, Zdravko Tomac began his political career in Communist Party of Yugoslavia. There he rose through the ranks, becoming close associate of Jakov Blažević...
, candidate of 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...
(SDP) and Vlado Gotovac, nominated by the HSLS. Tomac and Gotovac received 21.0% and 17.6% of votes respectively in the first round of voting, and Tuđman secured another term. The third presidential elections
Croatian presidential election, 2000
Presidential elections were held in Croatia on 24 January 2000. As no candidate passed the 50% threshold, a secound round was held on 7 February, the first time a second round had been required in the country's history. The result was a victory for Stjepan Mesić of the Croatian People's Party, who...
were held on 24 January 2000, to fill the office of the President of the Republic, after the incumbent Franjo Tuđman died on 10 December 1999. The first round of voting saw Stjepan Mesić
Stjepan Mesić
Stjepan "Stipe" Mesić is a Croatian politician and former President of Croatia. Before his ten-year presidential term between 2000 and 2010 he held the posts of Speaker of the Croatian Parliament , Prime Minister of Croatia , the last President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia , Secretary General...
, candidate of the Croatian People's Party (HNS) in front, receiving 41.3% of votes, followed by Dražen Budiša of the HSLS with 27.8% of votes and Mate Granić
Mate Granic
Mate Granić is a Croatian diplomat and politician who was part of the Croatian Government in much of the 1990s.Granić was born in Baška Voda in Dalmatia...
nominated by the HDZ receiving 22.6% of votes. The runoff election, the first in the presidential elections in modern Croatia, was held on 7 February, when Mesić won picking up 56.9% of votes. Voter turnout in the first round was 63.0% and 60.9% in the runoff. The first round of the fourth presidential elections
Croatian presidential election, 2005
The fourth presidential elections in Croatia took place in two rounds in January 2005.-Background:The State Elections Committee published a list of candidates on 15 December 2004. President Stjepan Mesić stood for re-election, and the governing HDZ nominated cabinet minister Jadranka Kosor...
was held on 2 January 2005. No candidate secured a first-round victory, however incumbent Mesić enjoyed substantial lead over other candidates as he received 48.9% of votes and the second and third ranked candidates Jadranka Kosor
Jadranka Kosor
Jadranka Kosor is a Croatian politician and former journalist. She is the current Prime Minister of Croatia, having taken office on July 6, 2009, following the sudden resignation of her predecessor Ivo Sanader. She is Croatia's first female Prime Minister since independence.-Early life:Jadranka...
(HDZ) and Boris Mikšić
Boris Mikšic
Boris Mikšić is a Croatian businessman and politician.Mikšić was born in Zagreb, then part of SFR Yugoslavia. He graduated from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture in 1973...
(independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
) managed only 20.3% and 17.8% voter support respectively. Ultimately, Mesić won reelection as he received 65.9% of votes in the runoff held on 16 January. The last Croatian presidential election was held on 27 December 2009, with Ivo Josipović
Ivo Josipović
Ivo Josipović is a Croatian politician who has been President of Croatia since 2010. Josipović entered politics as a member of the League of Communists of Croatia , and played a key role in the democratic transformation of this party as the author of the first statute of the SDP that replaced the...
(SDP) picking up 32.4% of votes, followed by Milan Bandić
Milan Bandic
Milan Bandić is an influential Croatian politician currently serving his fourth term as mayor of Croatia's capital, Zagreb. Between 2000 and 2009, he was a prominent member of the Social Democratic Party of Croatia . In 2007, he unsuccessfully ran for party president. However, he remained one of...
(independent), Andrija Hebrang
Andrija Hebrang (son)
Andrija Hebrang is a Croatian physician and politician. A member of the Croatian Democratic Union , he is currently member of the Croatian Parliament...
(HDZ) and Nadan Vidošević
Nadan Vidošević
Nadan Vidošević is a Croatian politician, businessman and entrepreneur. He was a long-time member of the Croatian Democratic Union, before he launched an independent and ultimately unsuccessful candidacy in the 2009-2010 Croatian presidential election.-Overview:Vidošević graduated from Faculty of...
(independent) receiving 14.8%, 12.0% and 11.3% of the votes respectively. The second round of voting was held on 10 January 2010, when Josipović defeated Bandić as he received 60.3% of votes.
| Election | Candidates | First round voter turnout |
First round results (candidates with more than 10% of votes) |
Second round voter turnout |
Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 Croatian presidential election, 1992 Presidential elections were held in Croatia for the first time on 2 August 1992 alongside simultaneous parliamentary elections. The result was a victory for Franjo Tuđman of the Croatian Democratic Union , who received 57.8% of the vote... |
8 | 74.90% | Franjo Tuđman (57.8%), Dražen Budiša Dražen Budiša Dražen Budiša is a Croatian politician who used to be leading opposition figure in the 1990s and a two-time presidential candidate.-During Yugoslavia:... (22.3%) |
Franjo Tuđman | |
| 1997 Croatian presidential election, 1997 Presidential elections were held in Croatia on 15 June 1997. The result was a victory for Franjo Tuđman of the Croatian Democratic Union , who received 61.4% of the vote. Voter turnout was 54.6%.-Results:... |
3 | 54.62% | Franjo Tuđman (61.4%), Zdravko Tomac Zdravko Tomac Zdravko Tomac is a Croatian politician.A native of Slavonski Brod, Zdravko Tomac began his political career in Communist Party of Yugoslavia. There he rose through the ranks, becoming close associate of Jakov Blažević... (21.0%), Vlado Gotovac (17.6%) |
Franjo Tuđman | |
| 2000 Croatian presidential election, 2000 Presidential elections were held in Croatia on 24 January 2000. As no candidate passed the 50% threshold, a secound round was held on 7 February, the first time a second round had been required in the country's history. The result was a victory for Stjepan Mesić of the Croatian People's Party, who... |
9 | 62.98% | Stjepan Mesić Stjepan Mesić Stjepan "Stipe" Mesić is a Croatian politician and former President of Croatia. Before his ten-year presidential term between 2000 and 2010 he held the posts of Speaker of the Croatian Parliament , Prime Minister of Croatia , the last President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia , Secretary General... (41.3%), Dražen Budiša (27.8%), Mate Granić Mate Granic Mate Granić is a Croatian diplomat and politician who was part of the Croatian Government in much of the 1990s.Granić was born in Baška Voda in Dalmatia... (22.6%) |
60.88% | Stjepan Mesić |
| 2005 Croatian presidential election, 2005 The fourth presidential elections in Croatia took place in two rounds in January 2005.-Background:The State Elections Committee published a list of candidates on 15 December 2004. President Stjepan Mesić stood for re-election, and the governing HDZ nominated cabinet minister Jadranka Kosor... |
13 | 50.57% | Stjepan Mesić (48.9%), Jadranka Kosor Jadranka Kosor Jadranka Kosor is a Croatian politician and former journalist. She is the current Prime Minister of Croatia, having taken office on July 6, 2009, following the sudden resignation of her predecessor Ivo Sanader. She is Croatia's first female Prime Minister since independence.-Early life:Jadranka... (20.3%), Boris Mikšić Boris Mikšic Boris Mikšić is a Croatian businessman and politician.Mikšić was born in Zagreb, then part of SFR Yugoslavia. He graduated from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture in 1973... (17.8%) |
51.04% | Stjepan Mesić |
| 2009-2010 | 12 | 43.96% | Ivo Josipović Ivo Josipović Ivo Josipović is a Croatian politician who has been President of Croatia since 2010. Josipović entered politics as a member of the League of Communists of Croatia , and played a key role in the democratic transformation of this party as the author of the first statute of the SDP that replaced the... (32.4%), Milan Bandić Milan Bandic Milan Bandić is an influential Croatian politician currently serving his fourth term as mayor of Croatia's capital, Zagreb. Between 2000 and 2009, he was a prominent member of the Social Democratic Party of Croatia . In 2007, he unsuccessfully ran for party president. However, he remained one of... (14.8%), Andrija Hebrang Andrija Hebrang (son) Andrija Hebrang is a Croatian physician and politician. A member of the Croatian Democratic Union , he is currently member of the Croatian Parliament... (12.04%), Nadan Vidošević Nadan Vidošević Nadan Vidošević is a Croatian politician, businessman and entrepreneur. He was a long-time member of the Croatian Democratic Union, before he launched an independent and ultimately unsuccessful candidacy in the 2009-2010 Croatian presidential election.-Overview:Vidošević graduated from Faculty of... (11.33%) |
50.13% | Ivo Josipović |
| Source: State Election Commission | |||||
Parliamentary elections
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...
are elected to a four-year term in ten multi-seat constituencies. The constituencies are defined on the basis of the existing county
Counties of Croatia
The primary territorial subdivisions of the Republic of Croatia called županije . In English they are commonly referred to as counties....
borders, with necessary amendments to achieve uniform number of eligible voters in each constituency to within 5% variation. Another constituency is defined for citizens of Croatia living abroad
Croatian diaspora
Croatian diaspora refers to the Croatian communities that have formed outside Croatia.Estimates on its size are only approximate because of incomplete statistical records and naturalization, but estimates suggest that the Croatian diaspora numbers between a third and a half of the total number of...
, however its number of seats was not fixed for the last parliamentary election. It was instead calculated based on numbers of votes cast in the ten constituencies in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and the votes cast in the 11th constituency, set up for those living outside Croatia. In the 2007 parliamentary election
Croatian parliamentary election, 2007
Parliamentary elections to the Croatian Parliament were held on 25 November 2007 in Croatia and on 24 November and 25 November 2007 abroad. The campaign officially started on 3 November...
the constituency elected five MPs. Recent constitutional changes have abolished the scheme and assigned permanently three MPs to the 11th constituency. Additional eight members of the parliament are elected by voters belonging to 22 recognized minorities in Croatia: Serb minority
Serbs of Croatia
Višeslav of Serbia, a contemporary of Charlemagne , ruled the Županias of Neretva, Tara, Piva, Lim, his ancestral lands. According to the Royal Frankish Annals , Duke of Pannonia Ljudevit Posavski fled, during the Frankish invasion, from his seat in Sisak to the Serbs in western Bosnia, who...
elects three MPs, Hungarians
Hungarians of Croatia
Hungarians of Croatia are a recognized ethnic minority. According to the 2001 census there are around 16,500 people of Hungarian ethnicity living in Croatia . Around two thirds of them live in Osijek-Baranja County in eastern Croatia, especially in the Croatian part of the Baranya region which...
and Italians
Italians of Croatia
Italians of Croatia are an autochthonous national minority recognized by the Constitution of Croatia. There are two major groups of Italians in Croatia:* Istrian Italians* Dalmatian Italians...
elect one MP each, Czech and Slovak minorities elect one MP jointly, while all other minorities elect two more MPs to the parliament. Standard D'Hondt formula
D'Hondt method
The d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...
is applied to the vote, with a 5% election threshold
Election threshold
In party-list proportional representation systems, an election threshold is a clause that stipulates that a party must receive a minimum percentage of votes, either nationally or within a particular district, to obtain any seats in the parliament...
. The last parliamentary election, held in 2007 elected 153 MPs, and the next one, scheduled for December 2011, shall elect 151. Just like in case of the presidential elections, election silence is in force on the day of the elections and the previous day, ending at 7 in the evening when the polling stations close and exit polls are published.
Even though political parties fund their campaigns using donations or own assets, the government also reimburses them for each parliamentary seat won. For the 2011 parliamentary election, each seat will be rewarded with 180,000 kuna
Croatian kuna
The kuna is the currency of Croatia since 1994 . It is subdivided into 100 lipa. The kuna is issued by the Croatian National Bank and the coins are minted by the Croatian Monetary Institute....
( 24,300 euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
). Smaller sums will be paid to parties or candidates failing to win any seats in the parliament, provided they receive more than 5% of votes in a constituency.
2007 Parliamentary election
Previous parliamentary elections
Since 1990, six parliamentary elections were held in Croatia. The election held in 1990 were the first multi-party elections following 45-year Communist rule, and the candidates ran for all 80 seats in the Social-Political Council of Croatia, all 116 seats to the Municipalities Council of Croatia and all 160 seats to the Associated Labour Council of Croatia as the Parliament had three chambers at the time. The first round of the election saw turnout of 85.5%, and the runoff-election turnout was 74.8%. The Croatian Democratic UnionCroatian 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...
(HDZ) won 205 seats and 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...
won 107. Five parliamentary elections were held since for the Chamber of Deputies of the parliament or the unicameral parliament since—in 1992, 1995, 2000, 2003 and 2007. Starting with the 1992 elections, number of seats in the Chamber of Deputies, and later in the unicameral parliament was significantly changed—ranging between 127 in 1995 to 153 in 2007. In Croatian parliamentary elections held since 1992 when number of seats in the parliament was limited to below 160, only 5 parties won 10 seats or more at any one of the parliamentary election. Those were HDZ, 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...
(HSS), Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats (HNS), 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...
(HSLS) and SDP.
Several political parties, besides the HDZ, HSS, HNS, HSLS and the SDP, won parliamentary seats since the 1990 election. Those are (in alphabetical order): Alliance of Primorje-Gorski Kotar (previously named Rijeka Democratic Alliance), Croatian Christian Democratic Union
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 ....
, Croatian Democratic Alliance of Slavonia and Baranja, Croatian Democratic Peasant Party, Croatian Independent Democrats
Croatian Independent Democrats
Croatian Independent Democrats was a political party in Croatia.-History:Its founders were members of moderate faction within Croatian Democratic Union...
, Croatian Party of Pensioners
Croatian Party of Pensioners
The Croatian Party of Pensioners is a Croatian political party. It is currently led by Silvano Hrelja.When the Party was founded, few people took it seriously and many commentators speculated that the ultimate purpose of HSU was take away pensioners' votes from rejuvenated SDP and thus help ruling...
, Croatian Party of Rights
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...
, Dalmatian Action, Democratic Centre, Democratic Union of Hungarians of Croatia
Democratic Union of Hungarians of Croatia
The Democratic Union of Hungarians of Croatia is a political party in Croatia, representing the Hungarian minority. The party has one seat in parliament since the elections of 23 November 2003.The party has caused a scandal 2011...
, German People's Union – National Association of Danube Swabians in Croatia, Independent Democratic Serb 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....
, 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...
, Party of Democratic Action of Croatia
Party of Democratic Action of Croatia
The Party of Democratic Action of Croatia is a political party that represents the Bosniak ethnic minority in Croatia...
, Party of Liberal Democrats, Serb Democratic Party
Serb Democratic Party (Croatia)
The Serb Democratic Party was a political party in Croatia whose primary constituency were the Serbs of Croatia. It led the Republic of Serbian Krajina. It existed between 1990 and 1995.The SDS was founded in the Socialist Republic of Croatia on February 17, 1990...
, Serb People's 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...
, Slavonia-Baranja Croatian 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....
, and Social Democratic Action of 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...
. Since the parliament seats won belong to individuals rather than parties, there were instances where individuals would become independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
or switch to another political party.
| Parliamentary elections overview (since 1990) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Election | Turnout | Results | Cabinet(s) Government of Croatia The Government of the Republic of Croatia , commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government , is the main element of the executive branch of government in Croatia. It is led by the President of the Government , commonly abbreviated to premier... |
| 1990 Croatian parliamentary election, 1990 Parliamentary elections were held in Croatia on 22 April 1990, with a second round of voting on 6 May. The first free elections since multi-party politics were introduced, they resulted in a victory for the Croatian Democratic Union, which won 55 of the 80 seats... |
59.5% | 1st assembly | Cabinet of Stjepan Mesić Cabinet of Stjepan Mesić The First Government of the Republic of Croatia was the Croatian Government from May 30 to August 24, 1990. The premier was Stjepan Mesić of the Croatian Democratic Union.-List of ministers and portfolios:-External links:... , Cabinet of Josip Manolić, Cabinet of Franjo Gregurić |
| 1992 | 61.7% | 2nd assembly | Cabinet of Hrvoje Šarinić, Cabinet of Nikica Valentić |
| 1995 Croatian parliamentary election, 1995 -Subsequent changes:The following changes happened after elections:*The Croatian Pure Party of Rights gained one member of parliament*The Croatian Christian Democratic Union gained one more member of parliament*The Serb People's Party lost one member of parliament... |
70.5% | 3rd assembly | Cabinet of Zlatko Mateša Cabinet of Zlatko Mateša The Cabinet of Prime Minister Zlatko Mateša was the Croatian Government cabinet announced on 7 November 1995. It was the 6th cabinet of Croatia, and its term ended on 27 January 2000.-List of ministers and portfolios:... |
| 2000 Croatian parliamentary election, 2000 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.... |
68.8% | 4th assembly | Cabinet of Ivica Račan I 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... , Cabinet of Ivica Račan II Cabinet of Ivica Račan II The second Cabinet of Prime Minister Ivica Račan was the Croatian Government cabinet announced on 30 July 2002. It was the 8th cabinet of Croatia, and its term ended on 23 December 2003. Račan's second cabinet was formed after Croatian Social Liberal Party and Istrian Democratic Assembly had... |
| 2003 Croatian parliamentary election, 2003 -External links:*... |
61.7% | 5th assembly | Cabinet of Ivo Sanader I |
| 2007 Croatian parliamentary election, 2007 Parliamentary elections to the Croatian Parliament were held on 25 November 2007 in Croatia and on 24 November and 25 November 2007 abroad. The campaign officially started on 3 November... |
57.27% | 6th assembly | Cabinet of Ivo Sanader II Cabinet of Ivo Sanader II The second Cabinet of Prime Minister Ivo Sanader was announced on 12 January 2008. It was the 10th cabinet of Croatia, and its term ended on 6 July 2009 when Jadranka Kosor formed the 11th cabinet... , Cabinet of Jadranka Kosor Cabinet of Jadranka Kosor The first Cabinet of Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor was announced on 6 July, 2009. It is the 11th cabinet of Croatia, and came into existence after Prime Minister Ivo Sanader had abruptly resigned on 1 July 2009 and named Kosor as his successor... |
| Source: State Election Commission | |||
| Seats won in parliamentary elections since 1990 by individual parties | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | 1990 Croatian parliamentary election, 1990 Parliamentary elections were held in Croatia on 22 April 1990, with a second round of voting on 6 May. The first free elections since multi-party politics were introduced, they resulted in a victory for the Croatian Democratic Union, which won 55 of the 80 seats... |
1992 | 1995 Croatian parliamentary election, 1995 -Subsequent changes:The following changes happened after elections:*The Croatian Pure Party of Rights gained one member of parliament*The Croatian Christian Democratic Union gained one more member of parliament*The Serb People's Party lost one member of parliament... |
2000 Croatian parliamentary election, 2000 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.... |
2003 Croatian parliamentary election, 2003 -External links:*... |
2007 Croatian parliamentary election, 2007 Parliamentary elections to the Croatian Parliament were held on 25 November 2007 in Croatia and on 24 November and 25 November 2007 abroad. The campaign officially started on 3 November... |
| Alliance of Primorje-Gorski Kotar | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Coalition of People's Accord Coalition of People's Accord Coalition of People's Accord was the bloc of mostly moderate nationalist and liberal parties formed on the eve of first multi-party elections in Croatia in 1990.... |
3 | |||||
| Croatian Christian Democratic Union 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 .... |
1 | 1 | ||||
| Croatian Democratic Alliance of Slavonia and Baranja | 3 | |||||
| Croatian Democratic Peasant Party | 1 | |||||
| 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... |
55 | 85 | 75 | 46 | 66 | 66 |
| Croatian Independent Democrats Croatian Independent Democrats Croatian Independent Democrats was a political party in Croatia.-History:Its founders were members of moderate faction within Croatian Democratic Union... |
1 | |||||
| Croatian Party of Pensioners Croatian Party of Pensioners The Croatian Party of Pensioners is a Croatian political party. It is currently led by Silvano Hrelja.When the Party was founded, few people took it seriously and many commentators speculated that the ultimate purpose of HSU was take away pensioners' votes from rejuvenated SDP and thus help ruling... |
3 | 1 | ||||
| Croatian Party of Rights 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... |
5 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 1 | |
| 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... |
3 | 10 | 17 | 10 | 6 | |
| Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats | 6 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 7 | |
| 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... |
14 | 12 | 25 | 2 | 2 | |
| Dalmatian Action | 1 | |||||
| Democratic Centre | 1 | |||||
| Democratic Union of Hungarians of Croatia Democratic Union of Hungarians of Croatia The Democratic Union of Hungarians of Croatia is a political party in Croatia, representing the Hungarian minority. The party has one seat in parliament since the elections of 23 November 2003.The party has caused a scandal 2011... |
1 | |||||
| German People's Union | 1 | |||||
| Independent Democratic Serb Party | 3 | 3 | ||||
| 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.... |
4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | |
| 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... |
2 | 2 | ||||
| Party of Democratic Action of Croatia Party of Democratic Action of Croatia The Party of Democratic Action of Croatia is a political party that represents the Bosniak ethnic minority in Croatia... |
1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Party of Liberal Democrats Libra -Science and technology:* Libra , a star constellation in the sky* Libra , an ancient Roman unit of weight* Libra , a public search engine for academic papers and literature* Libra , a media cataloguing software... |
3 | |||||
| Serb Democratic Party Serb Democratic Party (Croatia) The Serb Democratic Party was a political party in Croatia whose primary constituency were the Serbs of Croatia. It led the Republic of Serbian Krajina. It existed between 1990 and 1995.The SDS was founded in the Socialist Republic of Croatia on February 17, 1990... |
1 | |||||
| Serb People's 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... |
3 | 2 | 1 | |||
| Slavonia-Baranja Croatian 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.... |
1 | 1 | ||||
| Social Democratic Action of 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... |
1 | |||||
| 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... |
20 | 6 | 10 | 43 | 34 | 56 |
| Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Source: State Election Commission | ||||||
Chamber of Counties elections
Under the new Constitution of CroatiaConstitution 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...
adopted in 1990, Croatian Parliament became bicameral. The Chamber of Deputies had been elected few months earlier and its members enacted legislation creating new territorial organisation of Croatia
Administrative divisions of Croatia
The subdivisions of Croatia on the first level are the 20 counties and one city-county . On the second level these are municipalities and towns . Both of these type of subdivisions consist of settlements...
. This included counties
Counties of Croatia
The primary territorial subdivisions of the Republic of Croatia called županije . In English they are commonly referred to as counties....
that were to be represented by the new Chamber of Counties . The first election of members of the chamber was held on 7 February 1993, with each of the counties acting as a multi-seat constituency, three MPs being elected in each of the counties on the basis of 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...
. In addition, the President of Croatia
President of Croatia
The President of Croatia , officially styled the President of the Republic represents the Republic of Croatia in the country and abroad as the head of state, maintains the regular and coordinated operation and stability of the national government system, and safeguards the independence and...
appointed up to five more members of the Chamber of the Counties to complete its 68-strong membership. The second election for the Chamber of Counties of the parliament were held on 13 April 1997. The Chamber of Deputies was abolished through a constitutional amendment in 2001.
| Seats won in parliamentary elections by individual parties Chamber of Counties elections 1993–1997 |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | 1993 Croatian Chamber of Counties election, 1993 Chamber of Counties election were held for the first time in Croatia on 7 August 1993. The result was a victory for the Croatian Democratic Union, which won 37 of the 63 elected seats. Voter turnout was 64.3%.-Background:... |
1997 Croatian Chamber of Counties election, 1997 Chamber of Counties election were held in Croatia on 13 April 1997. The result was a victory for the Croatian Democratic Union, which won 40 of the 63 elected seats. Voter turnout was 71.4%.-Results:... |
||||
| 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... |
39 | 42 | ||||
| Croatian Party of Rights 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... |
- | 2 | ||||
| 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... |
5 | 9 | ||||
| Croatian People's Party | 1 | - | ||||
| 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... |
16 | 7 | ||||
| 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.... |
3 | 2 | ||||
| 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... |
1 | 4 | ||||
| Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
3 | 2 | ||||
| Source: State Election Commission | ||||||
European Parliament elections
Croatia is expected to elect 12 members of the European ParliamentEuropean Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
after its accession to the EU
Accession of Croatia to the European Union
Croatia applied for European Union membership in 2003, and the European Commission recommended making it an official candidate in early 2004. Candidate country status was granted to Croatia by the European Council in mid-2004...
unless those elections cannot be held more than six months prior to scheduled 2014 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2014
Elections to the European Parliament will be held in all member states of the European Union during June 2014. It will be the eighth Europe-wide election to the European Parliament since the first direct elections in 1979.- Presidential nominees :...
which are already planned to include Croatia. The elections are regulated by special legislation enacted by the Sabor. Provisions of the legislation are very similar to the parliamentary election legislation, except, with the main differences reflected in 12 members of the European Parliament elected in a single constituency encompassing the entire Croatia.
Local elections
The countyCounties of Croatia
The primary territorial subdivisions of the Republic of Croatia called županije . In English they are commonly referred to as counties....
prefect
Prefect
Prefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
s, city and municipal
Municipalities of Croatia
A Municipality in Croatia is known as an općina . Though equal to Croatian Grads in administrative powers, they are usually more likely to consists of a collection of villages in more rural or suburban area, whereas Grads are more likely to cover urban area...
mayors are elected to four-year terms, by majority of votes cast within applicable local government units
Administrative divisions of Croatia
The subdivisions of Croatia on the first level are the 20 counties and one city-county . On the second level these are municipalities and towns . Both of these type of subdivisions consist of settlements...
, with a runoff election
Two-round system
The two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
if no candidate achieves majority in the first round of voting. Members of county, city and municipal councils are elected to four-year terms, through 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...
with the entire local government unit as a single constituency. Number of members of the councils is defined by the councils themselves based on applicable legislation. Electoral committees are then tasked with determining whether the national minorities are represented in the council as required by 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...
, adding further members to the council, who belong to the appropriate minorities, selecting them from electoral candidate lists and who have not been elected through the 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...
system. Election silence, as in all other types of elections in Croatia, is enforced on the day of the elections and the previous day, ending at 7 in the evening, which is the time when the polling stations close and exit polls may be announced.
Out of six nationwide local elections held in Croatia since 1990, the most recent were the 2009 local elections
Croatian local elections, 2009
The 2009 Croatian local elections were held on 17 May, with the second round held on 31 May where necessary.The elections were held to elect members of city councils, mayors, members of county councils and county prefects. These were the first elections in which mayors and county prefects were...
to elect county prefects and councils, as well as city and municipal councils and mayors. At that occasion HDZ-led coalitions won majority
Majority
A majority is a subset of a group consisting of more than half of its members. This can be compared to a plurality, which is a subset larger than any other subset; i.e. a plurality is not necessarily a majority as the largest subset may consist of less than half the group's population...
or plurality in 15 county councils, and 13 county prefect elections. SDP-led coalitions won majority or plurality in five county councils, including the city of Zagreb council, and the single remaining county council election was won by IDS-SDP coalition. The SDP won four county prefect elections and the city of Zagreb mayoral election, the HSS won three county prefect elections, and the HNS and the HDSSB won a single county prefect election each.
Political campaigns
Any Croatian citizen aged 18 or over may become a candidate in presidential, parliamentary or local elections. In order to become an official candidate in presidential elections, 10,000 endorsements by citizens of Croatia aged 18 or over must be collected and submitted to the State Electoral Commission within 12 days following publication of the decision to hold elections in Narodne NovineNarodne novine
Narodne novine is the official gazette of the Republic of Croatia which publishes laws, regulations, appointments and official decisions and releases them in the public domain...
, the official gazette
Official Gazette
The Official Gazette of Iraq has been the official source for the laws and resolutions passed by the Council of Representatives of Iraq since August 1922. Article 125 of the Constitution mandates that laws shall be published in the gazette and shall take effect on the date of their publication,...
of the Republic of Croatia. The endorsements are made in a list comprising name, address and personal identification number
Personal identification number (Croatia)
The Personal identification number is a permanent national identification number of every Croatian citizen and legal persons domiciled in the Republic of Croatia. OIB is determined and assigned by the Tax Administration of the Croatian Ministry of Finance...
(PIN) of each of the citizens supporting a particular candidate. Each citizen may endorse a single candidate. The election commission verifies the endorsement lists, publishes the candidate list in all daily newspapers in Croatia and on the Croatian Radiotelevision
Croatian Radiotelevision
Croatian Radiotelevision is a Croatian public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite...
and delivers it to diplomatic missions of Croatia for publication. In case of parliamentary elections, only fourteen member election list
Election by list
An election by list is a system of election of political representatives by which the electors of an area vote for lists of candidates. If the system is an election by majority , the list that win get all the representatives for that area...
may be submitted to the State Electoral Commission for any number of constituencies in Croatia, in addition to candidates for the Croatian diaspora
Croatian diaspora
Croatian diaspora refers to the Croatian communities that have formed outside Croatia.Estimates on its size are only approximate because of incomplete statistical records and naturalization, but estimates suggest that the Croatian diaspora numbers between a third and a half of the total number of...
constituency and the ethnic minority representatives. In that case, 500 endorsements are required for an election list to become valid. The lists may be supported by one or more political parties or by a group of voters as an independent list. No person may be a candidate on two or more lists simultaneously. The same procedure applies to local elections, except that council election list require 100, 150 and 500 endorsements for municipal, city council and county council lists respectively. The city of Zagreb council is treated as a county council for the purposes of election procedure. Number of the voter endorsements of mayoral and county prefect candidate nominations ranges from 50 for mayoral elections in municipalities of up to 1,000 residents, 100 for other municipal mayoral candidates, 500 for mayoral elections in cities of up to 35,000 residents, 1,000 in cities with population between 35,000 and 100,000, and 2,000 endorsements for cities of 100,000 residents or more, except in case of Zagreb. County prefect election candidates require 2,500 endorsements, and the candidates running for the office of mayor of Zagreb need 5,000 voter endorsements for their nomination to become valid. Candidates running for European Parliament seats need not be Croatian citizens, and may hold citizenship of any Member state of the European Union
Member State of the European Union
A member state of the European Union is a state that is party to treaties of the European Union and has thereby undertaken the privileges and obligations that EU membership entails. Unlike membership of an international organisation, being an EU member state places a country under binding laws in...
while having a permanent or temporary residence in Croatia. Their nominations are valid if endorsed by 5,000 Croatian voters.
Funding
Funding of political parties, independent politicians and election campaigns is relatively highly regulated in comparison to developed western democracies. Applicable legislation encompasses cash receipts, provision of free services (except labour of volunteers) and products and other forms of support including membership fees. The legislation also stipulates that the government budgetGovernment budget
A government budget is a legal document that is often passed by the legislature, and approved by the chief executive-or president. For example, only certain types of revenue may be imposed and collected...
provides funding for political parties and non-partisan political representatives in the amount of 0.05% of the previous years budget expenditures. Further funds are appropriated in local government budgets as well. The funds are distributed to elected members of the parliament and councils, and the political parties, with which they are affiliated, receive 10% of the funds. Each election candidate or list must have a dedicated bank account to handle election campaign donations and other related funding as well as all campaign related expenditures. The maximum donation to a single party, candidate or list made in a year is also regulated. In case of natural persons it is set to 30,000 kuna
Croatian kuna
The kuna is the currency of Croatia since 1994 . It is subdivided into 100 lipa. The kuna is issued by the Croatian National Bank and the coins are minted by the Croatian Monetary Institute....
( 4,050 euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
) regardless of the purpose. Companies and other legal persons are limited to the same amount in case of political campaigns related to local elections, 100,000 kuna ( 13,500 euro) during political campaigns for parliamentary elections or European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
elections and 200,000 ( 27,000 euro) in presidential elections—to any single candidate, party or list, whichever may apply. Total campaign expenditure is also limited to 8 million kuna ( 1.08 million euro) per candidate in presidential elections, 1.5 million kuna ( 202,000 euro) per candidate or election list in European Parliament or parliamentary election constituency respectively, 500,000 kuna ( 67,600 euro) per candidate in Zagreb mayoral elections, 400,000 kuna ( 54,000 euro) per candidate in county prefect or mayoral elections in cities of 35,000 residents or larger and in county seats. Mayoral election campaign expenditure in other cities and in municipalities is also limited depending on the local government unit population: 250,000 kuna ( 33,800 euro) if the population exceeds 10,000 residents, 100,000 kuna ( 13,500 euro) in units of population of 3,000–10,000 and up to 50,000 kuna ( 6,750 euro) in self government units smaller than that. All candidates and parties or election lists are legally required to publish financial reports detailing the funding. The reports are audited by the State Electoral Commission and the State Audit Office.
In 2007 parliamentary elections, the leading political parties reported campaign spending as follows: the 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...
spent 19.5 million kuna ( 2.6 million euro), 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...
spent 15.8 million kuna ( 2.1 million euro), the Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats spent 9 million kuna ( 1.2 million euro), while 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...
led coalition reported spending 8 million kuna ( 1.08 million euro) and the Croatian Party of Rights
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...
spent a similar amount.
All presidential election candidates receiving at least 10% of votes are awarded equal sum as election campaign reimbursement. The exact sum is decided upon by the government at least 30 days ahead of the elections. This amount was set to 250,000 kuna ( 33,800 euro) for the purposes of the 2009-2010 presidential elections, representing a 50% decrease from the sum determined for the previous presidential elections, when the reimbursement sum was set to a half of a million kuna. Similarly, the government also reimburses the political parties and election lists for each parliamentary seat won. For the 2011 parliamentary election, each seat will be rewarded with 180,000 kuna
Croatian kuna
The kuna is the currency of Croatia since 1994 . It is subdivided into 100 lipa. The kuna is issued by the Croatian National Bank and the coins are minted by the Croatian Monetary Institute....
( 24,300 euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
). A sum of 30,000 kuna ( 4,050 euro) will be paid to parties or candidates failing to win any seats in the parliament, provided they receive more than 5% of votes in a constituency. In addition, national minority representative candidates running on the minority ballot failing to win parliamentary seats but still winning at least 15% of votes in their constituency, will receive 27,000 kuna ( 3,650 euro) if the particular minority comprises less than 1.5% of total population of Croatia
Demographics of Croatia
The demographic features of the population of Croatia include statistical data collected through censuses, normally conducted in ten-year intervals and analysed by various statistical bureaus since the 1850s. The Croatian Bureau of Statistics performs this task since the 1990s. The latest census in...
. Finally, all European Parliament election candidates and county prefect and mayoral election candidates receiving 10% of votes or more are also entitled to receive reimbursement of costs in the amount determined by the government ahead of each elections.
Media coverage and promotion
Applicable legislation requires that all presidential and parliamentary election candidates or election lists are guaranteed equal opportunity to present and discuss their platforms in media in addition to paid advertising. In 2007, parliamentary election campaign was covered by all media, including nationwide television broadcastersTelevision in Croatia
Television in Croatia was first introduced in 1956.- Main channels :- Terrestrial :Source: Croatian Post and Electronic Telecommunications Agency,Odašiljači i veze d.o.o.* Dubrovačka televizija - from Dubrovnik, broadcast for the city...
. In the period, the broadcasters, which include Croatian Radiotelevision
Croatian Radiotelevision
Croatian Radiotelevision is a Croatian public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite...
(HTV), RTL Televizija
RTL Televizija
RTL Televizija is a Croatian commercial broadcaster with national availability that has been broadcasting since April 30, 2004.RTL Televizija is 74% owned by the RTL Group....
(RTL) and Nova TV aired 27.8 hours of news in 22 different shows, containing 1,196 news reports. The total included 171 reports dealing with the elections directly. Analysis of the news coverage indicates evenly matched coverage of combined ruling party (HDZ) and the government official statements on one side and the main opposition party (SDP) on the other, each receiving an average of 37.5% share of the coverage and 33% share of interviews aired. HTV and Nova TV gave slight advantage to the HDZ and the government, while RTL gave more coverage to SDP. Still the differences were small and resulted in the matched ratios. Other political parties received considerably less coverage. HNS received approximately 11% of the coverage on average, HSS received 6%, and all other parties received less than 5% coverage. The national television broadcasters normally air shows where all election lists and candidates are allowed to talk about their programmes and may organise election debates.
Paid promotion largely followed this pattern, as the HDZ and the SDP were two dominant parties in that field as well. Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
(OSCE) furthermore noted in its report that the largest parties reported their advertising spending reduced, and that the largest proportion of the expenditure pertains to the television ads. Election silence
Election silence
An election silence, or alternatively pre-election silence, electoral silence, or campaign silence, is a ban on political campaigning prior to a presidential or general election. Legally it is a restriction of freedom of speech. For this reason it is considered unconstitutional in many western...
is in force on the day of the elections and the previous day, ending at 7 in the evening as polling station
Polling station
A polling place or polling station is where voters cast their ballots in elections.Since elections generally take place over a one- or two-day span on a periodic basis, often annual or longer, polling places are often located in facilities used for other purposes, such as schools, churches, sports...
s close and exit poll
Exit poll
An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. Unlike an opinion poll, which asks whom the voter plans to vote for or some similar formulation, an exit poll asks whom the voter actually voted for. A similar poll conducted before actual...
s may be published after that time.
Voting and appeals
Polling stations are normally set up in public buildings throughout the country and voters may only vote at an assigned polling station according to their permanent residence, but voters in armed forcesMilitary of Croatia
Croatian military is officially called Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia and it consists of three branches:* Croatian Army * Croatian Navy...
deployed abroad, voters on Croatian-flagged ships and imprisoned voters are allowed to vote elsewhere. Other voters residing in Croatia, traveling abroad on day of the elections may vote in diplomatic missions of Croatia. The polling stations are open from 7 in the morning until 7 in the evening, but all voters present at the polling stations at the closing time are allowed to vote. Polling stations may be closed early if all registered voters have voted. Presidential election ballots contain the list of candidates verified by the State Electoral Commission, specified in alphabetical order. For the presidential elections, this entails names and PIN of each candidate along with names of political parties endorsing the candidate, or a note that the candidate is running as an independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
. The names are sorted alphabetically preceded by ordinal numbers. Parliamentary election and European Parliament election ballots contain name of election lists and name of a person heading the list, who is not necessarily a candidate on the particular list. The lists are specified in alphabetical order and preceded by an ordinal number. Voting is performed by circling of number associated with a particular candidate. Ballots used otherwise, but still positively indicating a candidate for which a vote is cast, are also considered valid. Blank ballots and ballots where multiple numbers are circled or where multiple candidates are otherwise indicated are considered invalid. Official results are announced and published by the State Electoral Commission.
Voter register
Voter register in Croatia is defined by special legislation. The register lists all citizens of Croatia aged 18 and over, except those who have been stripped of their voting rights by a court decision. The register is organized according to places of legal residence and maintained by government offices in individual counties and the city of Zagreb. Each citizen of Croatia may request a review of the register and amendments of own personal information supported by applicable documents. The voter register is used to confirm right to vote at each of the polling stations and to verify voter endorsements of candidates and election lists submitted to the electoral commissions. Voters who expect to travel elsewhere in Croatia or abroad on the election day, may require inclusion in a special provisional list which allows them to vote at polling stations other than that assigned to them according to their residence. Failing that, a voter may obtain an excerpt from the registry on the election day to be allowed to vote.A pattern of irregularities has been discovered concerning the updating of the list, when citizens of Croatia turn 18 or die. In 2005, it was estimated that the register contained a large number of irregularities and erroneous entries. Since then, public attention was directed to the issue by NGOs monitoring elections through roundtables and advertisement campaigns ultimately improving the register, but it still allows improvements. Census of 2011 also pointed to a large number of voters in the registry which should not be there, leading to claims that up to a half of a million voters in the registry should not be there.
Complaints and appeals
Political parties, candidates and voters who have endorsed a particular candidate or election list in presidential, parliamentary or European Parliament elections may file complaints with the State Electoral Commission regarding irregularities in the election process within 48 hours of a disputed activity. In case of the European Parliament Elections, the voter complaints are required to be endorsed by at least 100 voters or 5% of the voters. If the commission finds the complaint valid, it will order repeated performance of activities concerned, possibly postponing the election date if there is insufficient time left to perform them. In any case, the commission must provide its decision within 48 hours after the complaint is submitted. The decision may be appealed before the Constitutional Court of Croatia within 48 hours of receipt of the decision, and the court must return a ruling within 48 hours once petitioned. In case of local council elections, the complaints are processed by county, city or municipal electoral commissions, as it may apply. On the other hand, in mayoral elections the complaints are filed with the county electoral commission. This does not apply in Zagreb mayoral elections, where the complaints are submitted to the State Electoral Commission, as it is the case in county prefect elections. Regardless of these variations, the time allowances and the appeals procedure are the same as in case of the presidential and parliamentary elections.Monitoring
The elections are managed by the State Electoral Commission and electoral boards. Members of those bodies are required to have a university degree in law, and they may not be members of any political party. The State Electoral Commission tends to preparation and management of the elections conforming to legislation, appoints lower-ranking election commission and board members, issues directions to such bodies and supervises their work. The State Electoral Commission compiles and publishes candidate lists, supervises legality of political campaigns and compiles and publishes official election results. All members of election boards, or their legal deputies, must be present at assigned polling statins at all times while the polling station is open. The board verifies identity of voters against list of registered voters and records turnout. The turnout number is later checked against number of votes cast, and if the number of votes exceeds turnout, elections at the specific polling station must be repeated. The votes are tallied by hand and that information is forwarded along with all other records made at the polling station to the State Electoral Commission.Further monitoring is largely performed by various non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
specializing in election monitoring—such as GONG. Also, there are other monitoring organisations headquartered in Croatia and abroad. Most recently the OSCE set up a limited monitoring mission to observe the 2009-2010 presidential elections. The last parliamentary election, held in 2007, were monitored by 8,540 observers fielded by various organisations and political parties.