Sanader made the statement during Question Time replying to Alenka Kocisa-Cicin-Sain of the People's Party (HNS), who asked why people who did not reside or pay taxes in Croatia had voted in the recent presidential election.
Although he underlined that Croats in Bosnia were not emigrants but a constituent people, Sanader said that all persons bearing Croatian citizenship, regardless of their place of residence, were equal before the Constitution.
He said it was unacceptable to make the issue of paying taxes crucial in deciding on who could vote in Croatian elections.
Sanader said that after local elections in April, the Government was willing to initiate the establishment of a permanent State Election Commission (DIP) for all elections -- presidential, parliamentary and local. He said the Government was aware of this necessity but had felt it logical not to change rules before the January 2 presidential election.
Sanader said he asked Supreme Court president Ivica Crnic to cover the April local polls given the success the DIP headed by Crnic had with past elections. He reiterated, however, that there was a need for a permanent DIP which should be professional and independent of any political party.
Interior Minister Marijan Mlinaric said the Croatian police could not investigate what had occurred during the Bosnian vote in Croatia's presidential election, but only ask the authorities in the neighbouring country to do something in that regard. He said this in response to Nenad Stazic of the Social Democrats who asked what the police were doing to clarify claims by the GONG election monitoring NGO that even the dead had recently voted in Bosnia.
Mlinaric said investigating those claims was within the State Prosecutor's jurisdiction. He cited newspapers and DIP findings to the effect that there had been only a few such cases which did not affect the election results.
Sanader did not directly answer the question by Pero Kovacevic of the Party of Rights (HSP) if he endorsed the HSP's proposal for the establishment of a commission which would probe the handling of transcripts from the President's Office.
Sanader said the State Prosecutor's Office was investigating charges pressed by attorneys representing Ante Gotovina, the general wanted by the Hague war crimes tribunal, against unknown perpetrators over the leaking of transcripts, and that the public would be notified of the results.
Responding to a question from Vladimir Kurecic of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union, Defence Minister Berislav Roncevic denied suspicions that Croatia was importing fruit and vegetables for the army.
Zoning and Construction Minister Marina Matulovic-Dropulic refuted claims that the Government would scrap the subsidised house-building project.