CROATIAN GOVERNMENT DISCUSSES LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

ZAGREB, March 30 (Hina) - Regular local elections will in the future be held every four years on the third Sunday in May, the Croatian Government suggested and forwarded to the Parliament Friday. The Government would call local elections though a special decision in which it would set their exact date. If the parliament adopts the motion, the upcoming local elections should take place on May 20. The upcoming elections, according to a bill on the election of members of local unit bodies, will be held under a pure proportional system instead of the current mixed system. The electoral census would continue to be five percent of votes. In the draft law text, the Government included a restriction according to which only a Croatian citizen with residence in that particular unit may be a candidate. The Government also suggests that, in drafting electoral lists, gender equality should be taken into account, as should the representation of national minorities. It is suggested that this principle also be applied to the representation of the Croat people in units where national minorities have a majority. (hina) lml sb