ZAGREB, Oct 31 (Hina) - The Main Committee of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) late on Thursday night adopted lists of candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections, to be headed in all constituencies by party president Ivica
Racan, except in constituency no. 8, where the slate will be headed by Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS) vice-president Damir Kajin, in line with a coalition agreement between the two parties.
ZAGREB, Oct 31 (Hina) - The Main Committee of the Social Democratic
Party (SDP) late on Thursday night adopted lists of candidates for
the upcoming parliamentary elections, to be headed in all
constituencies by party president Ivica Racan, except in
constituency no. 8, where the slate will be headed by Istrian
Democratic Assembly (IDS) vice-president Damir Kajin, in line with
a coalition agreement between the two parties. #L#
SDP leader Racan was not present at last night's session of the
senior party body due to "health problems", said Committee
chairwoman Gordana Sobol. She added that the committee had
unanimously accepted the party's election platform, which would be
made public next week.
Discussions about the election slates took some time due to a large
number of attending committee members, Sobol said.
According to unofficial sources, committee members objected to the
lists of candidates as determined by Racan and the party
presidency. Unofficial party sources said that committee members
were dissatisfied with SDP government ministers being given
advantage over some prominent parliamentary deputies and members
of the party's county branches.
Sobol told reporters that talks between the SDP and Libra and the
Liberal Party (LS) were completed. The SDP and Libra have agreed to
form a coalition in constituencies no. 2, 3, 4, and 10. The SDP will
enter a coalition with the LS in constituencies no. 4 and 6, Sobol
said, adding that Libra and the LS had agreed not to run in elections
in other constituencies, but to call on their electorate to vote for
the SDP.
Some LS candidates will be on some other SDP slates, but those
slates will not be coalition slates, Sobol said.
The head of the slate in constituency no. 11 (Croatians living
abroad) has not been determined yet, Sobol said.
The slates include the following SDP ministers in the incumbent
government: Culture Minister Antun Vujic, War Veterans Affairs
Minister Ivica Pancic, Foreign Minister Tonino Picula, Defence
Minister Zeljka Antunovic, Labour and Social Welfare Minister
Davorko Vidovic, Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac, Interior Minister
Sime Lucin, and Justice Minister Ingrid Anticevic-Marinovic.
Nominated were also Vice Premier Slavko Linic of the SDP, Economy
Minister Ljubo Jurcic and European Integration Minister Neven
Mimica, who are non-party candidates, as well as Health Minister
Andro Vlahusic of Libra.
The slate in constituency no. 1 includes non-partisan candidates -
(kickboxer) Cro Cop Mirko Filipovic, law professor Ivo Josipovic,
and singer Vice Vukov.
The result of the coalition agreement between the SDP, Libra and the
LS is the nomination of Libra and LS leaders in some constituencies:
Jozo Rados of Libra was nominated in constituency no. 2, Zlatko
Kramaric of the LS in constituency no. 4, and Ivo Banac of the LS in
constituency no. 6.
The list of candidates in constituency no. 8 is headed by IDS vice-
president Damir Kajin.
Nominated were also some former SDP parliamentary deputies, such as
Snjezana Biga-Friganovic, Dragica Zgrebec, Nenad Stazic, Josip
Leko, Milanka Opacic, Gordana Sobol, Ivan Ninic and Marin Jurjevic,
as well as Zagreb deputy mayor Milan Bandic and former parliament
vice-president Mato Arlovic.
(hina) rml sb