CRO PARTY OF RIGHTS MOTIONS DIASPORA LIST BE INCLUDED IN

ZAGREB, Nov 5 (Hina) - The Croatian Parliament House of Representatives on Thursday continued its session with a discussion on another draft amendments to the Electoral Law. The Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) motioned that the rights of emigrants to elect MPs to the Croatian Parliament from a special list be incorporated into the Croatian constitution. The party suggested a proportional electoral system, as well as that all minorities elect an equal number of members of Parliament. "The right to represent Croats residing abroad is an earned privilege,", Ante Djapic of the HSP said as he opposed a motion by six opposition parties that the diaspora should exercise their electoral right under equal conditions as all Croatian citizens. The Lower House on Wednesday concluded the discussion on the electoral bill as suggested by six opposition parties, Social Democratic Party (SDP), Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS), Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS), Liberal Party (LS), Istrian Democratic Alliance (IDS) and the Croatian People's Party (HNS). Djapic, however, was not perturbed, and continued the discussion, assessing that the six opposition parties had been "led by narrow party interests" when they suggested that the special list for emigrants be made invalid. Djapic said it would have been better for the drafters of the bill to try to win over supporters among emigrant Croatians by establishing party branch offices abroad. Hrvoje Kraljevic (HSLS) and Radimir Cacic (HNS) responded by denying that their intention had been to limit electoral rights to emigrants, and reiterated that their only intent was to close down special diaspora electoral lists. In that sense, they explained, the contentious formulation that only Croatian citizens residing in Croatia had the right to vote. Kraljevic said that the opposition, although it had previously stated this in its motion, does not insist that the first-past-the- post system had priority over the proportional system. The HSP suggested a clear proportional electoral system, meaning that MPs be elected only from state lists. A unified electoral threshold of five per cent for party lists and coalitionS would be introduced. The Croatian Party of Rights also suggested the equalisation of positions of national minorities, notwithstanding the number of minority members, including that the Serb national minority be withdrawn the present right to have majority representation at the Parliament. "This provision has no sense because it is discriminatory against members OF other minorities, those who had been loyal to the Croatian state during the whole period of Serb aggression," the HSP said. The current law provides members of ethnic and national communities or minorities who make up more than eight per cent of the Croatian population more rights than those of other minorities. During the discussion, Ivan Gabelica of the Pure Croatian Party of Rights (HCSP) endorsed and described the introduction of a clear proportional electoral system as being democratic, explaining that the system more clearly reflected the will of the electorate. Representatives of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) applauded HSP's motion that the special list for the diaspora be kept. Dismissing the same suggestion, Zeljko Pavlic (HSLS) pointed out the inability to combine a clear proportional system and the special list for the diaspora. Veselin Pejnovic, an independent candidate, thought that the discussion lacked important information about the exact number of people with Croatian citizenship who have the right to elect and be elected. Njegovan Starek on behalf of the Club of Independent National Minorities described provisions on the number of MPs elected by representatives of national minorities as unclear. (hina) lml jn /sp