Sanader recalled that an opinion had been requested from Zagreb Law School experts, via the National Office for State Administration, and that they said that a councillor is entitled to his or her seat and not a political party.
The PM said the expert opinion confirmed a government decision of two weeks ago and that it was in accordance with a bill of amendments to the law on local elections which the government had sent to parliament.
Sanader said that professor Branko Smerdel, as the leading expert in constitutional law, stated that the seat belongs to the councillor but also to the voters who elected him or her.