SNV CLAIMS CONST. COURT CONFIRMED RIGHT TO POSITIVE DISCRIMINATION

ZAGREB, Sept 19 (Hina) - The president of the Serb People's Council (SNV), Milorad Pupovac, has stated that the Constitutional Court's decision to reject a proposal to establish if the law on the election of parliamentary representatives is in line with the Constitution actually confirms the right of national minorities to so-called positive discrimination. #L# Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Pupovac said that the Constitutional Court had actually confirmed the right of national minorities to vote separately for candidates from minority rosters and those on party lists in the upcoming parliamentary elections. "The election law as defined in this way, particularly after the Constitutional Court's decision, guarantees the right to positive discrimination," he said. Pupovac, however, believes that the Constitutional Court should have interpreted the disputable provision, as otherwise it leaves room for political interpretations at the parliament's committee on the Constitution. The SNV had asked the Constitutional Court to establish if the provision was in compliance with the Constitution, stating that the provision "which grants voters the right and duty to vote only once" limits the general and special voting right of national minorities. The Constitutional Court on Wednesday dismissed the request, stating that the said provision does not deny voters, including minority voters, the right to vote only once in elections, regardless of how many times voters have the right to vote in elections. The court explained that the principle of a single vote and the number of votes recognised by the law are two different institutes that are not mutually dependent or connected, as the SNV erroneously claimed. (hina) rml