The head of the OSCE Mission to Croatia, Peter Semneby, said that recent criticism of campaign financing, the timing of elections, media coverage, and the selection of candidates expressed by several presidential candidates highlighted the need to move forward with electoral reform, the statement read.
While the OSCE will not conduct a formal monitoring of the presidential elections, many of its recommendations reappear in successive election observation reports and have yet to be implemented.
The proposals will include recommendations for the reform of the Croatian electoral system drawn up by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) following the monitoring of earlier presidential and parliamentary elections in Croatia between 1997 and 2003.
"According to these recommendations and those of domestic actors such as GONG, the main areas requiring reform of electoral legislation are: the lack of a permanent body to administer elections; insufficient regulation of campaign financing; ineffective updating of voters' lists; and lack of a clear framework for out-of-country voting," said Ambassador Semneby.
Semneby welcomed the government's intention to open three additional polling stations in Serbia. "This will give more Croatian citizens living as refugees the opportunity to engage in Croatia's future," said the ambassador.