Electoral system / Right to vote

The Constitutional Court reacts late yet again, and changes the rules of the electoral game one minute before it begins, right before the dissolution of the Parliament, when there is nothing to be done to fix the flaws of the legal framework. The decision is politically coloured in favour of the political elite and against legal certainty and the level of citizens’ trust in political institutions and actors, and serves to confuse the public, voters, candidates, media, as well as the institutions entrusted with the execution of the elections.  The impression left is that the decision was made with the upcoming re-election of the Constitutional Court judges in mind.

The non-governmental election-monitoring organisation GONG said on Sunday night that the presidential election had taken place mainly in a democratic atmosphere, with reports by citizens of the incompetence and indifference of polling committee members.

The Public Administration Ministry said on Friday that 3,779,281 voters are eligible to vote at the presidential election to be held on 28 December.

In addition to polling stations in Croatia, Croatian voters will be able to vote in the forthcoming presidential election on 28 December at 90 polling stations in 50 other countries, the State Electoral Commission (DIP) said on Wednesday.

The "In the Name of the Family" initiative welcomed the Constitutional Court's decision on Thursday that a marriage referendum can be held, while non-governmental organisations, whose request for the assessment of the constitutionality of the referendum's question the Court said was unauthorised, said the decision opened the door to a clerical campaign.