We need a single electoral legislation

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Zagreb, 6th April – At the roundtable of Council within the 5th Department of Political Academy entitled "Rights of national minorities", it was concluded that the Republic of Croatia should adopt a single electoral legislation. Before Roundtable, the 5th Department of Political Academy had a presentation of the Council which coordinates Gavor Gjenero, and its members are: Ph.D. Vesna Pusic, Ph.D. Andrea Zlatar Violić, Slavko Goldstein, Ph.D. Casting Friday, Ph.D. Darko Polšek and Ph.D. Sinisa Rodin.

 

Speakers at the roundtable were political analyst Davor Gjenero, Antonija Petričušić, professor of sociology at the Faculty of Law of the University of Zagreb and Tena Šimonović Einwalter from the Office of the Ombudsman.

 

Šimonović Einwalter presented the existing institutional and legal framework for the protection of minority rights in Croatia and the activities and experiences of the Office of the Ombudsman.

Antonija Petričušić referred to the issue of minority rights in the context of Croatian EU accession. She noted how the situation in this regard has improved how negotiations proceeded. The EU has no jurisdiction in the old member states on the question of national minorities, but in the process of joining all potential members are subject to the supervision of solving this issue.

Davor Gjenero in his presentation identified the three pillars of minority protection, parliamentary representation, the right to proportional representation in the local government and the right to self-governments. He alerted to the problem due to lack of electoral legislation that would likely encourage minority participation in all three pillars. The current situation is described as "a choice between assimilation and exclusion."

In the discussion following the presentation some of the participants described instances in which they have been discriminated and had to fight long struggle for their rights.