Sabor Speaker Vladimir Seks rejected the opposition MPs' accusations, stressing that the results of last night's voting were absolutely regular.
He told reporters that he proposed to the opposition leaders to watch the footage of the voting together and establish whether there was a lack of quorum or not. The opposition leaders turned the proposal down, describing it as inappropriate.
Seks reiterated that there were 78 MPs in the hall while the voting on the opposition's motion was held. The quorum is 77 MPs. Besides, there were an additional 10-15 deputies who were not sitting at their places during the procedure, Seks explained.
He also refused accusations that he had violated the rules for procedure by turning down the opposition's request that the voting on the matter be done individually, by each MP.
Seks went on to say that the parliamentary majority decided on the show-of-hands vote, which was in compliance with the rules.
The leaders of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Peasant Party (HSS), Ivica Racan and Zlatko Tomcic respectively, said the proposal to watch the recording of the voting was inappropriate, which was why they refused it. The rules do not envisage this model of establishing whether there was a quorum in the parliament, they explained.
Racan said that the HDZ insisted on a double mistake. "It misinterprets the rules, not allowing the individual voting, and it had no quorum".
For him, this is only the continuation of the unnecessary smearing of Parliament's reputation. He said the ruling majority should be held responsible for that.
Tomcic said the speaker's refusal to allow the individual voting was an act of arm-twisting.
Tomcic fears that the entire situation might escalate into a serious parliamentary crisis.