"We are close to the decision not to call for a boycott of the referendum, because we believe that a great step forward has been made in relation to the existing Serbian constitution," the president of the Croat National Council, Josip Pekanovic, told Hina on Sunday.
Representatives of national minorities in Vojvodina have announced a boycott of the referendum on the constitution if the status of national minorities is not resolved in the new constitution.
"The Serbian Prime Minister called us on Friday for consultations and to convince us that the proposed consitution offered positive solutions to the minority status, including the affirmative action in electing parliamentary deputies," Pekanovic said.
"Our unofficial sources said that national minorities will be directly represented by their representatives in the Serbian Parliament, which the democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina (DSHV) have been advocating for years, DSHV president Petar Kuntic said.
The leader of the stronger Hungarian party in Vojvodina said failure to adopt the new constitution in its present form would be irresponsible and favourable for those who wanted chaos in Serbia. The Hungarian minority is the most numerous national minority in Vojvodina.
Serbia's parliament on Saturday evening approved a new constitution, declaring the UN-run province part of Serbia.
The lawmakers -- 242 of them present at the session -- unanimously voted in favor of the constitution, that will replace the current one drafted in 1990 by late former autocratic leader Slobodan Milosevic.
Given that the new constitution needs a yes-vote on a national referendum before becoming valid, Markovic set the plebiscite for October 28 and 29, urging voters to give the proposed new constitution the legally required two-thirds support and underscore Serbia's opposition to possible independence for Kosovo that might come as the result of the UN-brokered talks on the province.