ELECTION IN E. SLAVONIA PERFECTLY POSSIBLE ON DEC 15 - GOVT

ZAGREB, Sept 30 (Hina) - The Croatian Ministry of Administration is of the view that it is possible to hold fair elections in the Croatian Danubian area on December 15, Croatian Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Kostovic said on Monday. "If UNTAES gives us access to registers in Eastern Slavonia, we will be able to issue all citizens with IDs before the election date," Kostovic told reporters following a meeting of the Coordination Office for the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danubian area, held behind closed doors. The Government's view was that voters on the 1991 electoral rolls and their children who had come of age in the meantime would be entitled to vote. Others could vote in the municipalities where they had lived before the war, Kostovic said. "Under Croatian law, another person's house cannot be registered as legal residence," Kostovic stressed. The final decision, however, lay with the UNTAES election officer, he noted. "I hope he will take into account the view of the Croatian Government," Kostovic said. Kostovic dismissed statements made by some UNTAES officials that the Government was dragging its feet over citizenship certificates. "To date, we have received 3,757 applications and have issued 2,747 citizenship certificates," he said. Asked about the progress of the investigation into the beating of a Croatian registry official and a member of UNTAES in Trpinja last week, Kostovic described the incident as "grave" and "serious," adding that investigation was not yet completed. The Croatian Government's Office for Cooperation with UNTAES has filed a written complaint, he said. (hina) as 301824 MET sep 96