Croatian parliamentary election, 2016
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003 election • MPs |
| 2007 election • MPs |
| 2011 election • MPs |
| 2015 election • MPs |
| 2016 election |
Parliamentary elections will be held in Croatia on 11 September 2016, with all 151 seats in the Croatian Parliament up for election. The elections were preceded by a successful motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković and his cabinet on 16 June 2016, with 125 MPs voting in favour of the proposal. A subsequent attempt by the Patriotic Coalition to form a new parliamentary majority, with Minister of Finance Zdravko Marić as Prime Minister, failed and the Parliament voted to dissolve itself on 20 June 2016. The dissolution took effect on 15 July 2016, which made it possible for President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović to officially call for elections on 11 September 2016.[1]
The elections will be contested by the two largest parties in the outgoing eighth Parliament; the Croatian Democratic Union, led by Andrej Plenković, and the Social Democratic Party led by Zoran Milanović. The SDP will contest the election as part of the People's Coalition, consisting of the SDP, HNS, HSS and HSU. They will also be challenged by a number of other parties and coalitions, including the Bridge of Independent Lists, which held the balance of power after the 2015 elections, as well as many of the other smaller parties and independent lists in the previous Parliament. The current Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković, a non-partisan technocrat, announced that he would not be running on any party's candidate list and would not seek reelection. This means that if the new 14th government cabinet successfully takes office after the election, it will most likely be headed by a new Prime Minister.
Furthermore, in the event of HDZ chairman Andrej Plenković, MOST chairman Božo Petrov or all but one other current party chairman taking office as Prime Minister, they would be the 12th Prime Minister of Croatia since the first multi-party election in 1990. The only three exceptions to this rule would occur if: 1) Zoran Milanović, who previously served as Prime Minister from 2011 until 2016, took office again and became the first Prime Minister since Ivo Sanader in 2008 to be elected to a second term (and the first ever to serve non-consecutive terms). 2) If Tihomir Orešković is elected to a second term as Prime Minister (even if he is not seeking one), and becomes the second Prime Minister (after Sanader) to gain a second consecutive term. 3) In the unlikely event of one of the eight living former Prime Ministers, other than Milanović (Mesić, Manolić, Gregurić, Šarinić, Valentić, Mateša, Sanader, Kosor), taking office for a second or third (in Sanaders case) term.
Background[edit]
Following the 2015 elections a government was formed by independent businessman Tihomir Orešković who was supported by the conservative Patriotic Coalition, led by Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), and Bridge of Independent Lists (MOST). However, HDZ put forward a motion of no confidence on 16 June, with 125 of 151 MPs voting in favor of the motion.[2] The HDZ sought to form a new government with Minister of Finance Zdravko Marić as Prime Minister, however it was clear that he wouldn't get support of 76 MP's.[2] On 20 June MPs voted to dissolve parliament effective on 15 July, resulting in snap elections being called.President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović called elections on 11 September.
Electoral system[edit]
The 151 members of the Croatian Parliament are elected by three methods; 140 are elected in ten 14-seat constituencies by proportional representation using a 5% electoral threshold, with seats allocated using the d'Hondt method; 3 are elected in a special constituency for Croatian citizens and people of Croatian descent living overseas;[3] and 8 are elected from a constituency for ethnic national minority groups: 3 for Serbs, 1 for Italians, 1 for Hungarians, 1 for Czechs and Slovaks, 1 for Albanians, Bosniaks, Macedonians, Montenegrins and Slovenes, and 1 for Austrians, Bulgarians, Germans, Jews, Poles, Roma, Romanians, Rusyns, Russians, Turks, Ukrainians and Vlachs.
Political parties[edit]
| Name | Abbr. | Ideology | Political spectrum | Leader | Seats 2015 | Seats before election | Electoral districts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| People's Coalition | ||||||||
| Social Democratic Party of Croatia Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske |
SDP | Social democracy[4] | Centre-left | Zoran Milanović | 42 | 42 | ||
| Croatian People's Party-Liberal Democrats Hrvatska narodna stranka - liberalni demokrati |
HNS | Liberalism[5][6] | Centre | Ivan Vrdoljak | 9 | 9 | ||
| Croatian Party of Pensioners Hrvatska stranka umirovljenika |
HSU | Single-issue politics (pensioner's rights) | Centre | Silvano Hrelja | 2 | 2 | ||
| Croatian Peasant Party Hrvatska seljačka stranka |
HSS | Agrarianism | Centre | Krešo Beljak | 2 | 1 | ||
| HDZ "Coalition" | ||||||||
| Croatian Democratic Union Hrvatska demokratska zajednica |
HDZ | Conservatism | Centre-right | Andrej Plenković | 49 | 51 | ||
| Croatian Social Liberal Party Hrvatska socijalno liberalna stranka |
HSLS | Conservative liberalism | Centre-right | Darinko Kosor | 2 | 2 | ||
| Croatian Christian Democratic Party Hrvatska demokršćanska stranka |
HDS | Christian democracy | Right-wing | Goran Dodig | 1 | 1 | ||
| Croatian Growth[7] | Hrast | Social conservatism, Political Catholicism | Right-wing | Ladislav Ilčić | 1 | 1 | ||
| For Prime Minister Coalition[8] | ||||||||
| Bandić Milan 365 - The Party of Labour and Solidarity Bandić Milan 365 - stranka rada i solidarnosti |
BM 365 | Populism | Centre | Milan Bandić | 2 | 2 | ||
| People's Party - Reformists Narodna stranka - Reformisti |
Reformisti | Social liberalism | Centre | Radimir Čačić | 1 | 1 | ||
| New Wave - Party of Development Novi val - Stranka razvoja |
Novi val | Social democracy | Centre-left | Ljubo Jurčić | 0 | 0 | ||
| Croatian Peasant Party Stjepan Radić Hrvatska seljačka stranka Stjepan Radić |
HSS SR | Agrarianism | Centre | Jurica Šoić | 0 | 0 | ||
| Bloc Pensioners Together Blok umirovljenici zajedno |
BUZ | Single-issue politics (Pensioners' rights) | Centre | Milivoj Špika | 1 | 1 | ||
| The Only Option Coalition | ||||||||
| Human Blockade Živi zid |
Živi zid | Populism, Anti-establishment, Euroscepticism | Centre | Five Co-Presidents | 1 | 1 | ||
| Always Frankers Uvijek Frankeri |
UF | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Change Croatia Promijenimo Hrvatsku |
PH | Social liberalism, Economic liberalism | Centre | Ivan Lovrinović | 0 | 3 | ||
| Youth Action Akcija mladih |
AM | Liberalism | Centre | Vjekoslav Rubeša[9] | 0 | 0 | ||
| Alphabet of democracy Abeceda demokracije |
AD | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Even Stronger Istria Coalition | ||||||||
| Istrian Democratic Assembly Istarski demokratski sabor |
IDS | Regionalism (Istria), Social liberalism | Centre-left | Boris Miletić | 3 | 3 | ||
| Alliance of Primorje-Gorski Kotar Primorsko goranski savez |
PGS | Regionalism (Primorje-Gorski Kotar) | Centre | Darijo Vasilić | 0 | 0 | ||
| List for Rijeka Lista za Rijeku |
RI | Regionalism (Rijeka) | Centre | Danko Švorinić | 0 | 0 | ||
| Homeland Coalition | ||||||||
| Croatian Party of Rights dr. Ante Starčević Hrvatska stranka prava dr. Ante Starčević |
HSP AS | National conservatism | Right-wing | Ivan Tepeš | 3 | 3 | ||
| Democratic Union of National Renewal – Right Demokratski Savez Nacionalne Obnove – Desno |
Desno | National conservatism, Croatian nationalism | Far-right | Anto Đapić | 0 | 0 | ||
| Croatian Christian Democratic Union Hrvatska kršćanska demokratska unija |
HKDU | Christian democracy, National conservatism | Right | Marko Veselica | 0 | 0 | ||
| United Party of Rights Ujedinjena stranka prava |
USP | National conservatism | Right-wing | Antun Kljenko | 0 | 0 | ||
| Croatian Democratic Party Hrvatska demokratska stranka |
HDS | Christian democracy | Right wing | 0 | 0 | |||
| HDSSB Coalition | ||||||||
| Croatian Democratic Alliance of Slavonia and Baranja Hrvatski demokratski savez Slavonije i Baranje |
HDSSB | Regionalism (Slavonia), Conservativism | Right-wing | Dragan Vulin | 2 | 2 | ||
| Croatian Conservative Party Hrvatska konzervativna stranka |
HKS | National conservatism, Economic liberalism | Right-wing | Ruža Tomašić | 0 | 0 | ||
| No Selling Coalition | ||||||||
| Independent List Stipe Petrina Nezavisna lista Stipe Petrina |
NLSP | Stipe Petrina | 0 | 1 | ||||
| Free Croatia Slobodna Hrvatska |
SH | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Together Movement Pokret Zajedno |
PZ | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Sustainable Development of Croatia Održivi razvoj Hrvatske |
ORaH | Sustainable development, Environmentalism, Progressivism | Centre-left | Luka Keller | 0 | 0 | ||
| Shift Coalition | ||||||||
| Croatian Party of Rights Hrvatska stranka prava |
HSP | National liberalism, Croatian nationalism, Euroscepticism | Far right | Daniel Srb | 0 | 0 | ||
| Croatian Pure Party of Rights Hrvatska čista stranka prava |
HČSP | Croatian nationalism, National conservativism | Far right | Ivan Pandža | 0 | 0 | ||
| Action for Better Croatia Akcija za bolju Hrvatsku |
ABH | Croatian nationalism, National conservativism | Right-wing | Željko Cvrtila | 0 | 0 | ||
| Family Party Obiteljska stranka |
OS | Social conservatism | Right-wing | Mate Knezović | 0 | 0 | ||
| Turn Croatia Around Coalition | ||||||||
| Smart Pametno |
Pametno | Social liberalism, Economic liberalism | Centre | Marijana Puljak | 0 | 0 | ||
| For the City Za Grad |
Za Grad | Liberalism | Centre | Iva Kvakić Ivan Zelenić |
0 | 0 | ||
| Not part of any coalition | ||||||||
| Autochthonous Croatian Party of Rights Autohtona – Hrvatska stranka prava |
A-HSP | Croatian nationalism, Anti-communism, Radical nationalism, Euroscepticism | Far-right | Dražen Keleminec | 0 | 0 | ||
| Bridge of Independent Lists Most nezavisnih lista |
Most | Fiscal conservatism, Economic liberalism | Centre | Božo Petrov | 19 | 12 | ||
| Blocked - Deblock Croatia Blokirani - Deblokirajmo Hrvatsku |
0 | 0 | ||||||
| Defenders' Patriotic Party of Croatia Braniteljsko domoljubna stranka Hrvatske |
BDSH | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Croatian Defenders' People's Party Hrvatska braniteljska pučka stranka |
HPBS | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Croatian Workers Party Hrvatska radnička stranka |
HRS | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Croatian Labourists - Labour Party Hrvatski laburisti - stranka rada |
Laburisti | Labor rights | Left-wing | Tomislav Končevski | 3 | 2 | ||
| Movement for Modern Croatia Pokret za modernu Hrvatsku |
PMH | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Quite a small party Sasvim mala stranka |
SMS | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Socialist Labour Party of Croatia Socijalistička radnička partija |
SRP | Communism | Far-left | Vladimir Kapularin | 0 | 0 | ||
| Croatian Party of Order Hrvatska stranka reda |
HSR | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Međimurje Democratic Alliance Međimurske demokratski savez |
MDS | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Independent List Željko Knapić Neovisna lista Željko Knapić |
0 | 0 | ||||||
| Active Defenders' and Pensioners Party Aktivni branitelji i umirovljenici Hrvatske |
ABU Hrvatske | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Croatian Aspect Party Stranka hrvatski vidik |
SHV | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Democratic Women's Party Demokratska stranka žena |
DSŽ | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Independent List Dragutin Dukić Neovisna lista Dragutin Dukić |
0 | 0 | ||||||
| Green Alliance Zeleni savez |
ZS | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Development and Progress Party Stranka razvoja i napretka |
SRNA | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Istrian democrats Istarski demokrati |
ID-DI | Regionalism (Istria) | Centre-left | Damir Kajin | 0 | 0 | ||
| Croatian Party of Rights 1861 Hrvatska stranka prva 1861 |
HSP 1861 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Zagorje Party Zagorska stranka |
ZS | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Pensioners Party Stranka umirovljenika |
SU | 0 | 0 | |||||
References[edit]
- ^ http://www.politico.eu/article/kolinda-grabar-kitarovic-croatian-president-calls-snap-election-no-confidence-vote/
- ^ a b Croatian prime minister toppled in confidence vote BBC News, 16 June 2016
- ^ Electoral system Inter-Parliamentary Union
- ^ Statute of the Social Democratic Party of Croatia Social Democratic Party of Croatia (Croatian)
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 2, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 2, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ^ "HDZ predao liste, Glasnović ipak odustao"
- ^ "Milan Bandić Presents His Coalition"
- ^ http://akcijamladih.org/predstavljeni-novi-predsjednik-i-novi-clanovi-predsjednistva-akcije-mladih