At a session on Friday, the government struck out a provision from the proposal under which it would have had the authority to dismiss elected local leaders.
A public debate has shown that there are objections to such a possibility and that the issue should be decided by local communities rather than the central government, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said.
The government, however, will propose an amendment to the Local and Regional Government Act under which a head of municipality or county or a mayor can be relieved of his duties at the proposal of a local legislature, but only at a referendum. If at the referendum citizens oppose the proposal for the dismissal of the mayor in question, the municipal council or the town or county assembly that sought the dismissal will have to step down, he added.
The government's amendment and the bill on the election of mayors and heads of municipalities and counties are yet to be put to a vote in Parliament. If the proposals are accepted, local government heads will for the first time be directly elected in local elections due in 2009.