'GONG' ASSOCIATION SATISFIED WITH ORGANISATION OF ELECTIONS

ZAGREB, Jan 4 (Hina) - The non-government organisation GONG (Organised Election Monitoring By Citizens) has positively assessed Monday's election for the Croatian Parliament's House of Representatives despite some irregularities that were registered. Addressing a news conference in Zagreb on Tuesday, GONG representatives presented the results of a project of parallel data gathering and processing, according to which the Social Democratic Party/Croatian Social Liberal Party (SDP/HSLS) coalition is expected to win the election. #L# The project includes a sample of 10 per cent of polling stations and about 300,000 processed ballots. According to data gathered and processed by the GONG, the SDP/HSLS coalition should have 58 seats in the parliament, to which another seven seats should be added, which, according to GONG estimates, the coalition should win together with the Slavonija-Baranja Croatian Party (SBHS), and another seven seats in the coalition with the Primorje-Gorski Kotar Alliance (PGS). The Croatian Democratic Party (HDZ) should win 40 mandates whereas the Croatian Party of Rights/Croatian Christian Democratic Union (HSP/HKDU) coalition should win four seats. The coalition of the Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS), Liberal Party (LS) and the Croatian People's Party (HNS) should win 13 mandates, whereas the coalition of the HSS, LS, HNS and the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS) should win two seats. The 'Opposition Four' coalition (IDS, HNS, LS, HSS) together with the Action of Social Democrats of Croatia (ASH) is expected to win five mandates and the HSS-LS-HNS-ASH coalition another four seats. Without the votes of the Croatian Diaspora and national minorities, the Sabor would have 140 representatives. As regards irregularities, GONG members said some polling stations had been closed before their actual closing time at 7pm, whereas at some polling stations voters were allowed to vote without having to present their ID cards. Voters' materials at some polling stations were incomplete. GONG executive director Suzana Jasic said GONG observers in London and Frankfurt reported cases when citizens had to vote with Diaspora ballots because of the lack of other ballots. In the fifth constituency, the voting on ballots intended only for displaced persons was reported, whereas monitors in Daruvar reported the 'loss' of two boxes with ballots. At some polling stations the pictures of the late President Franjo Tudjman were displayed despite instructions by the National Electoral Commission which approved only the displaying of state symbols, flags, and coats-of- arms. Jasic mentioned a case from a polling station in Zagreb's suburb of Pescenica, where allegedly a member of the voters' committee urged voters to vote for the HDZ if they wanted compensation amounting to 50 kuna. Following intervention by the Electoral Commission, this irregularity was removed. The GONG has also received data on cases of double voting by members of an engineering regiment in Mostar and Zagreb, but those reports have still not been checked, and neither have other reports on double voting been checked. The GONG assessed the work of the Electoral Commission as fair and transparent, adding this electoral campaign was marked by more tolerance than the previous ones. They thanked volunteers, of whom there were more than 5,000, and citizens for their assistance, calling for cooperation in the upcoming presidential election for which the GONG has still not obtained a monitoring permit. The GONG will present its final analysis of the parliamentary election in the next two weeks. (hina) mm rml