The club's chairman, Katica Milos, told a news conference in Zagreb on Wednesday that after its establishment in 1997, the club for the first time called now on its members and sympathisers to vote for a particular candidate, namely the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) presidential candidate, Jadranka Kosor, in the presidential election's run-off Sunday.
The club found fault with the incumbent President Stjepan Mesic for his statement that "the Croatian diaspora in Bosnia-Herzegovina is a burden to the Croatian budget", the club's representatives said.
They added that after the first round of the presidential polls, some media and politicians claimed that the diaspora, particularly voters in Bosnia-Herzegovina, had influenced the polling so that there would have to be the second round which rendered the election more expensive.
Milos said that it was worrisome to see that a lip service was being paid to the Diaspora while in the practice attempts of emigrants to return and integrate in the homeland could provoke animosity.
Milos, and another member of the club, Vlatko Menix, criticised statements made by what they said some senior officials on the Diaspora's influence on the election's results.
Menix said that under its constitution the Republic of Croatia was obliged to provide for Croats outside Croatia. He also spoke about the current grave situation of Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina, saying that they were facing another exodus.
Sinisa Grgic from an institute for business research said that emigrants had been and were offering great financial assistance to Croatia. Annually they remit about 1.7 billion dollars to Croatia which included pensions and different forms of assistance to their families and relatives, Grgic said adding that those funds were invested in the development of Croatia.
According to returns from the polling stations after the first round of the elections, Mesic won over 50 percent plus one vote in Croatia, but Kosor won in the Diaspora, which changed the final results that showed that the first candidate did not win necessary 50 percent plus one vote, and the run-off had to be scheduled for 16 January.