3000 CITIZENS APPLY TO 'GONG' TO MONITOR ELECTION IN CROATIA

ZAGREB, Dec 7 (Hina) - A Croatian non-governmental organisation called GONG (Organised Election Monitoring by Citizens), which received a permission from the State Election Commission to monitor the forthcoming parliamentary election in Croatia, said on Tuesday that up to now 3008 citizens had submitted their requests to this NGO to take part in the monitoring of the coming election. On Tuesday the GONG began its project of calling on citizens to check the voters' registers. The GONG is to deliver over 150,000 leaflets motivating eligible voters to check in due time (by December 19) those lists, said a spokeswoman for GONG, Aleksandra Kuratko, at a news conference. Following attacks launched by some political parties which doubted the impartiality of GONG, representatives of this NGO presented to reporters principles of non-party and independent monitoring of the election. An observer within the GONG can be member of any political party, but they must not be party officials or candidates for the election. Each observer of the GONG will have to be trained and sign a statement ensuring he or she will impartially and objectively observe the voting, said the GONG executive director, Suzana Jasic. Asked to comment on accusations that the GONG was linked with some political parties as well as that it helped some "espionage services" of international organisations, Jasic repudiated the attacks as groundless stressing that the activities of the GONG, as a non-governmental organisation, were financially supported both by international institutions and the Croatian Government. (hina) ms