Only one councillor, a member of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), voted in favour of the motion.
The head of the HVIDRA branch, Zeljko Strize, told reporters that councillors from the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) had pledged their support for the proposal, but then decided to back out.
HVIDRA representatives who attended the council session accused the HDZ and Mayor Ante Sanader of manipulating war veterans and "amply using their merits before the HDZ won the parliamentary election".
Strize recalled that the Kastela Town Council had declared General Mirko Norac an honorary citizen when the HDZ was in opposition. Norac is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for war crimes committed in Gospic.