The chairman of the Council for National Minorities, Aleksandar Tolnauer, called on national minorities to turn out for the vote on Sunday to create conditions for resolving their problems.
Milena Klajner of the Office for National Minorities said that the government had organised about 20 seminars for national minorities and local authorities to ensure appropriate conditions for the functioning of minority councils and their actual participation in decision-making processes.
Vincent Degert, the head of the European Commission Delegation in Croatia, said that the voter turnout was crucial for increasing the credibility of minority councils. He said that the turnout for the first such elections held in 2003 was poor because of the lack of awareness of the role of minority councils.
Although the Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities has met with criticism, it provides a good foundation for participation in public and political life, and since Croatia possesses a sufficient number of democratic instruments, it can be improved, said Jose-Enrique Horcajada Schwartz of the OSCE Mission in Croatia.
Member of Parliament Nikola Mak praised the role played by the non-governmental election monitoring organisation GONG and the STINA news agency in the election campaign, saying that only they made the effort of informing national minorities of their right to choose their representatives.
Another MP, Milorad Pupovac, drew attention to the possibility of public electoral rolls being abused. He said that details of people's religious affiliation and ethnic origin and their privacy should be protected.
Pupovac also said that minority councils should be connected at national level because "problems are present not just locally but also nationally."
People's ethnic background is a private matter, but it should be transparent. Our task is to prove that we live in a society aspiring to join a multicultural Europe and that we are proud of what we are, said Slavko Burda of the Coordinating Body of the Ukrainian minority.
Sinisa Tatalovic of the Office of the Croatian President said that a good voter turnout was important because a rating of the level of democracy in Croatia depended on it.
The rally was also addressed by President Stjepan Mesic via a DVD recording.
Elections for minority councils will be held in 20 counties, 57 towns and 68 municipalities, and for minority representatives in 18 counties, 44 towns and 390 municipalities. All 14 entitled minorities exercised their right to nominate their candidates for minority councils, while 18 out of 19 minorities used their right to put up their candidates in municipalities, towns and counties.