CROATIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS: CREAM ALWAYS RISES TO THE TOP by inavukic

CROATIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS: CREAM ALWAYS RISES TO THE TOP

by inavukic

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic (right)
Tomislav Karamarko (left/ president HDZ)
Photo: Davor Puklavec/Pixsell

The time to hand in citizens’ signatures supporting individual candidates for the presidential elections expired midnight Saturday 6 December. Seven candidates may be yet confirmed as running in the elections to be held December 28. The Croatian Electoral office received bundles/boxes of original signatures sheets from:

Kolinda Grabar, Kitarovic (Croatian Democratic Union/HDZ and its coalition parties) – 328,683 signatures;

Ivo Josipovic (current president backed by Social Democrats and their coalition parties) - 203.875 signatures;

Miland Kujundzic (Croatian Dawn/Alliance for Croatia coalition) – 50,000 signatures;

Ivan Vilibor Sincic (from “Living Wall” citizens’ organization that attempts stopping tenancy eviction orders as per defaults on bank loan repayments) – 15, 200 signatures. Sincic said that the political parties to which other candidates belong have done nothing for Croatia in the past 25 years. He emphasized that his election platform is founded on cancelling all privatization and the “return of the stolen”, on the lustration of war profiteers and failed politicians, changes to Debt Payment Enforcement Act, a stop to all current eviction orders and a return to Croatia’s monetary sovereignty.

Ivan Vilibor Sincic
Photo: Goran Mehkek/Cropix

There are three more candidates who may qualify yet as the numbers of signatures they claim they have lodged have not yet been verified. They are: Slobodan Midzic – did not hand in sheets with signatures but unlike the other candidates he handed in a CD on which he said there were more than 500,000 signatures. Given that he failed to hand in to the Electoral office a certification of a specific campaign funds bank account he was warned he was in breach of electoral procedures and would most likely be fined, however he did not withdraw from candidacy. Midzic is an engineer from Velika Kladusa in Bosnia and Herzegovina who also ran, unsuccessfully, in these elections 5 years ago – reportedly a nostalgic for former Yugoslavia whose ballot paper for last parliamentary elections in Croatia was struck off as invalid - it had the Communist Alliance as his nominator;

Ratko Dobrovic and Ivan Bavcevic – both independent.

"We have collected more signatures than any other candidate has in the history of signature-collection for presidential candidacies in Croatia. We are in for a campaign for a better Croatia, a modern, self-confident, patriotic, strong country, and since we have collected this many signatures of support, I expect an election victory," Grabar Kitarovic said after handing over the boxes with signature sheets.She said that during her campaign she would explain to citizens what she could offer them - life in a better Croatia, economic growth, social stability, rule of law, national security and defence, and international acknowledgement.

Ivo Josipovic (Left) with
Zoran Milanovic (right/Prime Minister)
Photo: Jurica Galoic/Pixsell

Ivo Josipovic, the current president of Croatia and a candidate at the coming elections said on Saturday in Zagreb at the handing over of signatures ceremony: "We have collected 203,875 valid signatures and I thank all citizens who gave their signatures for my candidacy and I also thank the parties that back my candidacy".

Milan Kujundzic (Centre)
Photo: hina.hr

Milan Kujundzic said at handing over of signatures ceremony: “ No one should stay at home and not vote. Let everyone vote in accordance with their own conscience and if they think that this which we have now is good let them vote for the existing. If they this this what we have should be changed let them vote for those who have freedom, credibility and the resolve to do everything they are promising, and not say one thing and then do another… Croatian people must choose whether they want the same people who have done this (brought Croatia to a brink of an abyss) or whether they want a new Croatia and a bright and prospective Croatia.The reported numbers of signatures collected for the individual candidates strongly place Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic in front of all the other candidates and could well mean that she has distinguished herself from others and is noticed as the leading candidate. While various polls, which one can take or leave particularly because they’re always taken from a limited and small “slice” of voter body, place her as runner-up to Josipovic the collection of signatures certainly represents a significant slice from the body of about 3.5 million voters. A cynic may argue that her campaign quarters have perhaps worked harder than any other at collecting signatures but that argument can only work in her favour because it shows ardent determination to succeed, to make a difference for Croatia. If one works hard to secure a job then one can expect one will work hard in that job. Nothing is, therefore, taken for granted and it’s though hard work such as this, backed up by the consistency of her policies to make Croatia a better place to live in that seems to have made her name rise to the top of the candidates’ list.Whether the number of signatures in support of candidacy will translate into actual votes is at this stage a result impossible to predict with certainty. Much work paves the road to the 28th of December and it disappoints greatly that, once again, there will be no postal voting, no electronic voting and Croats living abroad are once again discriminated against. It is virtually impossible for most to make a trip to even the nearest Croatian consular office/polling place. To make matters worse, all voters living abroad need to register by 17 December to vote on the 28th December (First round) or 11th January (Second round), even those who do not have a address of abode in Croatia and who in previous elections could simply turn up at polling place on election day and vote. For all those living abroad and wishing to vote please register by the 17th and to make matters easier for you I have uploaded the Form you need to fill in (wherever you are in the world) and send it off to your nearest Croatian consular service office and do not forget to attach a photocopy of you ID document if you are lodging the registration to vote form via email, fax or post and not doing it in person. Your closest diplomatic-consular office can be searched at http://www.mvep.hr/hr/predstavnistva/dmkurh-u-svijetu/ . Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb); B.A., M.A.Ps. (Syd)

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