IRI: ELECTIONS IN CROATIA FAIR FOR MOST PART

ZAGREB, Jan 4 (Hina) - The International Republican Institute (IRI) has concluded that Jan 3 parliamentary elections in Croatia were fair for the most part whereas the irregularities reported did not affect the election result, IRI representative for eastern Europe John Anelli said on Tuesday. #L# According to a statement Anelli read out to reporters in Zagreb, IRI monitors are unanimous that the election process was for the most part correct. The irregularities and the lack of consistency reported by IRI monitors were not relevant for the final outcome of the voting process, said Anelli, adding most problems concerned the voting of Serbs in eastern Slavonia. The IRI has sponsored the participation of 25 representatives from the monitoring mission of the Office for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Office for Democratic Initiatives and Human Rights in the January 3 election. According to Anelli, the voting and the vote-counting were in most cases conducted smoothly and without any obstacles. He welcomed the fact that representatives of opposition parties sat on voters' committees. However, this was not possible in military facilities, prisons, and on ships, or at Croatian embassies and representations abroad. The IRI report also includes the assessment of the pre-election campaign. As regards the pre-election atmosphere, it seems that all parties could conduct their campaigns in a free manner, Anelli said, adding though the belated adoption of the electoral law and the election date had limited the electioneering process. (hina) mm rml