ZAGREB, March 3 (Hina) - An initiative to accede to the amendment of the Constitution will be launched by members of parliament and parliament could adopt the changes by the end of March or mid-April, the vice president of the lower
house said earlier this week. Under the Constitution, entitled to move the amendment of the basic legal document are a least a fifth of lower house representatives, the president of state and the government. Given that a political agreement has been reached in principle, this time an adequate number of representatives could move the amendment of the Constitution, said Mato Arlovic, the vice president of the lower house who declined to give more details as to the collection of the required number of signatures. He believes the initiative could be on the lower house's agenda next week. The Constitution should be amended again, only four months after the adoption
ZAGREB, March 3 (Hina) - An initiative to accede to the amendment of
the Constitution will be launched by members of parliament and
parliament could adopt the changes by the end of March or mid-April,
the vice president of the lower house said earlier this week.
Under the Constitution, entitled to move the amendment of the basic
legal document are a least a fifth of lower house representatives,
the president of state and the government.
Given that a political agreement has been reached in principle,
this time an adequate number of representatives could move the
amendment of the Constitution, said Mato Arlovic, the vice
president of the lower house who declined to give more details as to
the collection of the required number of signatures.
He believes the initiative could be on the lower house's agenda next
week.
The Constitution should be amended again, only four months after
the adoption of the last changes, primarily to abolish the upper
house. A political decision to that effect was made by the leaders
of the ruling coalition's six parties last week. They said the state
would save some 50 million kuna (approx. $6.1 million) by
abolishing the House of Counties and enhance the efficiency and
speed in passing laws.
To realise their intention, the ruling coalition must win 101 votes
in the lower house, the House of Representatives, meaning it will
have to win votes from parties outside the coalition as the ruling
six have 95 MPs.
Objections to the coalition's intention have come from the Croatian
Democratic Union, the strongest opposition party, and the upper
house itself. The upper house has said it costs the state an annual
35 million kuna (approx. 4.3m), as much as the lower house.
Arguments in favour of the upper house have also been to the effect
that its abolishment would make Croatia run counter to the world's
prevailing trend of two-house parliaments.
Arlovic has said the issue of rationality of the political
apparatus is very important in the case of Croatia, which has a
population under five million.
He expects all three stages of effecting the constitutional changes
will be carried out by the end of this month or mid-April.
The Constitution stipulates that the lower house, with the previous
opinion of the upper house, decides with a majority vote if the
changes will be acceded to. The draft of the constitutional changes
is formulated by the lower house, also with a majority vote.
The lower house decides on changing the Constitution with a two-
third majority vote, with the previous opinion of the upper house.
(hina) ha