LOWER HOUSE STARTS DEBATE ON CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES

ZAGREB, March 21 (Hina) - The Croatian parliament's House of Representatives on Wednesday started debating a motion on drawing up a draft on constitutional changes, which is the second stage in the process of adoption of constitutional changes. Explaining the draft, the chairman of the Committee on the Constitution, Rule Book and Political System, Mato Arlovic, reminded that it envisaged the dissolution of the House of Counties. The Committee has given up the solution on protecting the right to local self-government by enabling one third of county assemblies to request that the lower house again debate the already adopted law on local self-government. Instead of that, the protection of the right to local self- government will be regulated with a law on the Constitutional Court which will grant county assemblies the right to request the assessment of the law's constitutionality, which the Court should do within 30 days. The issue of the right to vote of the Croat Diaspora will not be regulated with the Constitution but with an electoral law whereas a general regulation on the right to vote of Croatian citizens will be retained in the Constitution. The session of the lower house resumed with a debate among parliamentary benches. (hina) rml