Karamarko did not receive the votes of the Party of Rights (HSP) and the Social Democrats (SDP). The HSP committee members abstained because they had their own candidate for the post, MP Vlado Jukic, while Sime Lucin and Mirko Filipovic of the SDP did not attend the session. Lucin told the press over the phone the SDP did not boycott the vote.
Karamarko told the press after the committee session his "objective is to tighten up professionalism in the service and eliminate political interference from the work of secret services".
He underlined that the POA must fully serve national security and be an agency comprised of professionals who are barely concerned with elections or political parties in the future.
The committee requested an analysis of the state of affairs in the POA and bound Karamarko to submit a report within 30 days on the analysis and the measures that were taken.
Chairman Ivan Jarnjak informed the committee that the head of the office of the National Security Council, Ladislav Pivcevic, told him there had not been two reports about the POA's work, one of which had allegedly been submitted to President Stjepan Mesic and the other to Prime Minister Ivo Sanader.
Discussing the Council for the Civilian Supervision of Security Services, the committee concluded its work should be supported despite the fact that its chairman, Vlatko Cvrtila, had resigned.
The council is expected to be convened this week, while a joint session of the council and the committee, expected to address the council's work in the future, is planed for mid-January.
At the HSP's proposal, the committee asked the Defence Ministry to submit a report on allegations of sexual abuse in the military.