Regular local elections will be held on Sunday, May 18, the Croatian Government decided on Monday during a telephone session, and also made decisions on the amount of compensation for election campaign costs.
On the third Sunday in May, Croatian voters will elect members of the representative bodies of municipalities, cities and counties, as well as municipal heads, mayors and county prefects and their deputies, as well as deputy heads, mayors and county prefects from among members of national minorities, that is, from among members of the Croatian people.
The government's decisions come into effect on Tuesday, April 15th, which means that candidacies can be submitted from Wednesday, April 16th.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenković told reporters in Koprivnica that the government made the decision today, slightly ahead of schedule (April 18th), and that several local leaders were consulted, who said they had more or less completed all their activities.
"We called (the elections today) because the deadline is practically in three days, Easter is coming soon, we wanted things to be clear. We consulted several leaders and they all told us that they had more or less completed all their activities," said Plenković after a working visit to Koprivnica.
The representative bodies have practically done everything they needed to do, which is why the decision was made today, it comes into effect tomorrow, and the deadlines start after that, he added.
"The State Electoral Commission (SEC) also signaled to us that, due to technical preparations, it would be good for them if it were maybe a day or two earlier than the deadline, and all of this is in accordance with the law," the Prime Minister said.
On Tuesday, when the Decision on calling elections for members of representative bodies of municipalities, cities and counties comes into force, the mandate of all members of representative bodies, as well as the mandate of Government Commissioners appointed to perform tasks within the competence of the representative body in the municipalities of Vir, Garčin, Muć, Proložac, Punat and Šenkovec, will expire.
Reimbursement of election expenses
Political parties and lists of groups of voters that receive at least one member are entitled to reimbursement of election campaign costs for elections for members of local councils and assemblies. Depending on the size of the unit, the reimbursement per member ranges from 133 euros to 1,327 euros.
The fee is paid from the budget of the municipality, city, or county for whose council or assembly the elections are being held.
In the elections for municipal mayors, mayors, county prefects and the Mayor of the City of Zagreb, candidates who receive at least 10 percent of valid votes from the total number of voters who voted are entitled to compensation.
The fee is distributed proportionally to the votes received, so for the highest number of votes received in the first election round for the Mayor of the City of Zagreb and his deputies it is 13,272 euros, while in the elections for the mayor and municipal head in cities and municipalities with up to 3.000 inhabitants it is 664,00 euros.
Photo: FAH/Damir Senčar
