GRANIC:VOTING OF DIASPORA IMPORTANT FOR CROATIA'S INT. CREDIBILITY

ZAGREB, Dec 4 (Hina) - Croatia's Vice Premiers, Mate Granic and Jure Radic, on Friday evening joined members of the Central Committee of the Croatian World Congress, that was holding its two-day session in Zagreb. The Congress has been active for six years, and comprises national congresses from 29 countries of the world where a considerable number of Croatian immigrants live.. According to the Congress, an estimated three and a half million Croats live outside Croatia in 60 countries all over the world. Speaking of an appeal which the Congress lodged with to the Croatian Constitutional Court, contending that a non-fixed quota should be applied for the computation of the final number of representatives of voters who cast ballots in the 11th electoral unit (the unit of the Diaspora), Granic, Croatia's Foreign Minister said the coming parliamentary election and voting of Croatian emigrants were exceptionally important for the international credibility of Croatia. Granic pledged to do his best to ensure that the voting of Croatian expatriates be conducted in the best possible manner in Croatia's consular and diplomatic offices. Minister of Development and Immigration, Jure Radic also spoke of the discontent of the Croatian World Congress with the election law. "Only expatriates have a quota of elected candidates. But it is on the Constitutional Court, where emigrants filed a complaint, rather than on the Government, to make a ruling on the matter," Radic said. Stressing that "there are no two Croatian peoples in the world, but it is one nation scattered over the world," Radic said the Croatian people must persist in the unity as it was united during the Homeland War. The President of the Cogress, Simun Sito Coric, said the two-day session in Zagreb made a review of the previous work and adopted guidelines for future activities. (hina) ms