The government did not submit its opinion on the proposal, neither did the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) comment on the proposal during the debate.
Ante Markov of the HSS said that the existing regulation, under which smaller municipalities cannot have executive governments, but only municipal (legislative) councils, is contrary to the constitutional regulation which grants municipalities the right to decide independently about their structure and scope of activities.
He warned that heads of smaller municipalities often hold all the power and make decisions disregarding the will of citizens, and added that municipal governments would be a link between citizens and politics.
Pero Kovacevic of the Party of Rights (HSP) concurred, stating that the establishment of municipal governments would help avoid numerous irregularities concerning the powers and obligations of local representative bodies.
Dragutin Lesar of the HNS/PGS club of deputies said the current situation was illogical because bigger and smaller municipalities shared the same obligations but not the same rights.
Zvonimir Mrsic of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) said that his party supported the HSS proposal in principle, but added that executive authority in smaller municipalities should be exercised by municipal heads, which he said would be a good example for the subsequent introduction of direct election of mayors and municipal heads.
Only a few deputies took part in a debate on the HNS's bill on the voter register, which proposes introducing permanent updating of voter data and binds competent bodies to submit all relevant information to state institutions which keep population registers. The bill also foresees the obligation to control voter registers, as well as permanently compare lists of voters with and without permanent residence in Croatia.