2000 Croatian parliamentary election

Last updated

2000 Croatian parliamentary election
Flag of Croatia.svg
  1995 3 January 2000 2003  

All 151 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
76 seats needed for a majority
Turnout70.85% Increase2.svg 2.06 pp
PartyLeader%Seats+/–
SDPHSLSPGSSBHS Ivica Račan 39.2571+48
HDZ Zlatko Mateša 27.0446−29
HSSIDSHNSLSASH Zlatko Tomčić 14.9224+7
HSPHKDU Anto Đapić 5.3050
Minority lists
SNS Milan Đukić 47.721−1
DZMH Tibor Santo 42.881New
HSS Zdenka Čuhnil 40.621New
SRURH Borislav Graljuk 34.101New
Independents Furio Radin 78.9110
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
2000 Croatian parliamentary election map.svg
Result by constituency.
Prime Minister beforeSubsequent Prime Minister
Zlatko Mateša
HDZ
Ivica Račan
SDP

Parliamentary elections were held in Croatia on 3 January 2000 to elect members of the Chamber of Representatives.

Contents

The ruling Croatian Democratic Union entered the elections weakened by a series of corruption scandals that came to light in the previous parliamentary term and fractures between its hardline nationalists and more moderate members. However, the most important factor was the deteriorating health of the party leader and Croatian president Franjo Tuđman, which left no successor within the party. [1]

On the other side, two major Croatian opposition parties – the Social Democratic Party of Croatia and Croatian Social Liberal Party – had their coalition formally agreed in 1998 and spent more than a year preparing for the elections. At first, they were to run together with the Croatian Peasant Party, Croatian People's Party, Istrian Democratic Assembly and Liberal Party, but as Tuđman's condition worsened, leaders of the SDP and HSLS concluded that they could win elections even without the four other parties, which later formed a separate bloc.

On 25 May, the governing HDZ and the six mainstream opposition parties signed an agreement to develop a consensus-based legislative framework for the upcoming parliamentary elections. This agreement also included a commitment to restructure Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) as a public broadcaster. [2] As before all previous elections since the breakup of Yugoslavia, the electoral laws were altered in an attempt to improve the chances for the ruling party; this included a new voting system and redistricting. The first-past-the-post constituencies introduced in the previous election were scrapped and proportional representation was implemented (with the exception of ethnic minority seats). The country was divided into ten electoral districts, all drawn in order to maximise the support for HDZ. Each district had to elect 14 members with an electoral threshold of 5%. [2]

Due to Tuđman's illness and death in December 1999, the elections were repeatedly postponed for constitutional reasons. There was speculation about elections being held during the Christmas holidays in order to have as many Croatian expatriates (traditionally HDZ supporters) in the country, but the date of 3 January was chosen as the most suitable. As election day, the outcome became more certain. The campaign was brief and relatively uneventful with the HDZ being visibly weakened and demoralised by the death of its long-term leader. On election day, voter turnout – the highest since 1990 – indicated the desire to see a change of government.

Following the elections, Social Democratic Party leader Ivica Račan was appointed Prime Minister on 27 January 2000, by a decree of Acting President and Speaker of the outgoing assembly of Parliament, Vlatko Pavletić. The appointment was confirmed by a parliamentary vote on 2 February in which 122 of 151 MPs voted in favor and one against the cabinet, while one MP abstained. [3] Račan led a coalition of SDP and HSLS, which together with a bloc of four other parties held a supermajority in parliament, allowing them to amend the Constitution and transform Croatia from a semi-presidential system into an incomplete parliamentary system in November 2000, and abolish the upper chamber, the Chamber of Counties, in March 2001. The constitutional changes of 2000 greatly limited the power of the president, but retained the direct election of the office.

Results

Results of the election based on the majority of votes in each municipality of Croatia

.mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{}
SDP-HSLS coalition

HDZ

HSS-HNS coalition

IDS-HSS-HNS coalition

SDSS

HSP-HKDU coalition

HCSP Parlamentarni izbori u Hrvatskoj 2000.png
Results of the election based on the majority of votes in each municipality of Croatia
  SDP-HSLS coalition
  HDZ
  HSS-HNS coalition
  IDS-HSS-HNS coalition
  SDSS
  HSP-HKDU coalition
  HČSP
PartyVotes%Seats
SDPHSLSSBHSPGS 1,138,31839.2571
Croatian Democratic Union 784,19227.0446
HSSIDSLSHNSASH 432,52714.9224
HSPHKDU 153,7085.305
Croatian Party of Pensioners 52,7171.820
HP–NH–HČSP 52,3291.800
Croatian Peasant Peoples' Party39,8671.370
Croatian Popular Party 39,7431.370
Croatian Party of Rights 1861 30,0181.040
Independent Democratic Serb Party 22,8280.790
Socialist Labour Party of Croatia 17,3960.600
HKDS–KDM–INS–IPS15,5830.540
Croatian Green Party12,9720.450
Croatian Civic Peasant Party11,7620.410
HDS–RPS11,1450.380
HDSS–HSRS–NSP8,5220.290
DPS–ZDS 7,3600.250
Croatian Independent Democrats 6,9940.240
Dalmatian Action 6,3880.220
National Democratic Party6,1880.210
Croatian Party of Natural Law4,5930.160
Movement for Human Rights–Party of Environmentally Conscious Citizens3,7580.130
Croatian Republican Union 3,3090.110
Croatian Plans Party2,7340.090
Serb People's Party 2,6470.090
Party of Croatian Revival2,3700.080
Christian Social Union1,9130.070
Croatian Dalmatian Home1,7880.060
Istrian Party1,7050.060
Homeland Civic Party1,6870.060
Croatian Republicans1,5110.050
Croatian Defence Order1,0030.030
Social Democratic Union of Croatia7980.030
Party of Danube Serbs 7210.020
Coastal Democratic Centre6070.020
Party of Democratic Action of Croatia 1000.000
Independents18,1340.630
National minorities5
Total2,899,935100.00151
Valid votes2,899,93598.37
Invalid/blank votes47,9261.63
Total votes2,947,861100.00
Registered voters/turnout4,046,50872.85
Source: Global Elections Database, Psephos

Minority seats

National minorities elected five representatives through a separate election system: Milan Đukić (47,7% of votes) for the Serb national minority, Tibor Santo (42,8%) for the Hungarian minority, Furio Radin (78,9%) for the Italian minority, Zdenka Čuhnil (40,6%) for the Czech and Slovak minorities and Borislav Graljuk (34,1%) for the Austrian, German, Jewish, Rusyn and Ukrainian minorities.

Composition

Government   Opposition
                                                    
                                                    
                                                    
Government:  SDP   HSLS   PGS   SBHS   HSS   IDS   HNS   Liberal  Minorities
Opposition:  HDZ   HSP   HKDU

Related Research Articles

The politics of Croatia are defined by a parliamentary, representative democratic republic framework, where the Prime Minister of Croatia is the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the Government and the President of Croatia. Legislative power is vested in the Croatian Parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The parliament adopted the current Constitution of Croatia on 22 December 1990 and decided to declare independence from Yugoslavia on 25 May 1991. The Constitutional Decision on the Sovereignty and Independence of the Republic of Croatia came into effect on 8 October 1991. The constitution has since been amended several times. The first modern parties in the country developed in the middle of the 19th century, and their agenda and appeal changed, reflecting major social changes, such as the breakup of Austria-Hungary, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, dictatorship and social upheavals in the kingdom, World War II, the establishment of Communist rule and the breakup of the SFR Yugoslavia.

Presidential elections were held in Croatia on 15 June 1997. They were the second presidential elections held since independence in 1991. The result was a victory for incumbent president Franjo Tuđman, the leader of the Croatian Democratic Union party (HDZ), who received 61.40% of the vote and was re-elected to a second five-year term. As Tuđman received a majority of the valid votes cast on election day there was no need for a run-off. President Tuđman received a plurality of the votes in 20 of Croatia's 21 counties, while Vlado Gotovac did so in Istria County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 Croatian parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections to elect all 151 members of the Croatian Parliament were held on 23 November 2003. They were the fifth parliamentary elections to take place since the first multi-party elections in 1990. Voter turnout was 61.7%. The result was a victory for the opposition Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) which won a plurality of 66 seats, but fell short of the 76 needed to form a government. HDZ chairman Ivo Sanader was named the eighth Prime Minister of Croatia on 23 December 2003, after parliament passed a confidence motion in his government cabinet, with 88 MPs voting in favor, 29 against and 14 abstaining. The ruling coalition going into the elections, consisting of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Croatian People's Party (HNS), Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), Party of Liberal Democrats (Libra) and the Liberal Party (LS), did not contest the elections as a single bloc; the SDP ran with the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS), the Party of Liberal Democrats (Libra) and the Liberal Party, HNS ran with the Alliance of Primorje-Gorski Kotar (PGS) and the Slavonia-Baranja Croatian Party (SBHS), while HSS ran on its own.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivica Račan</span> Croatian politician (1944–2007)

Ivica Račan was a Croatian politician who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 2000 to 2003, heading two centre-left coalition governments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croatian Parliament</span> Legislative branch of Croatia

The Croatian Parliament or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabor is composed of 151 members elected to a four-year term on the basis of direct, universal and equal suffrage by secret ballot. Seats are allocated according to the Croatian Parliament electoral districts: 140 members of the parliament are elected in multi-seat constituencies. An additional three seats are reserved for the diaspora and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, while national minorities have eight places reserved in parliament. The Sabor is presided over by a Speaker, who is assisted by at least one deputy speaker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croatian Democratic Union</span> Croatian political party

The Croatian Democratic Union is a major conservative, centre-right political party in Croatia. Since 2016, it has been the ruling political party in Croatia under the incumbent Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Croatia, along with the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SDP). It is currently the largest party in the Sabor with 62 seats. The HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 before the country gained independence from Yugoslavia until 2000 and, in coalition with junior partners, from 2003 to 2011, and since 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social Democratic Party of Croatia</span> Croatian political party

The Social Democratic Party of Croatia is a social-democratic political party in Croatia. The SDP is anti-fascist, progressive, and strongly pro-European. The SDP was formed in 1990 as the successor of the League of Communists of Croatia, the Croatian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, which had governed Croatia within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia since World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats</span> Croatian liberal political party

The Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats is a social-liberal political party in Croatia.

Regular elections in Croatia are mandated by the Constitution and legislation enacted by Parliament. The presidency, Parliament, county prefects and assemblies, city and town mayors, and city and municipal councils are all elective offices. Since 1990, seven presidential elections have been held. During the same period, ten parliamentary elections were also held. In addition, there were nine nationwide local elections. Croatia has also held three elections to elect members of the European Parliament following its accession to the EU on 1 July 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1990 Croatian parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in the Socialist Republic of Croatia between 22 and 23 April 1990; the second round of voting occurred on 6–7 May. These were the first free, multi-party elections held in Croatia since 1938, and the first such elections for the Croatian Parliament since 1913. Voters elected candidates for 356 seats in the tri-cameral parliament; the turnout in the first round ranged between 76.56% and 84.54% for various parliamentary chambers. In the second round, the turnout was 74.82%. The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won 205 seats, ousted the League of Communists of Croatia – Party of Democratic Reform (SKH-SDP) from power and ended 45 years of communist rule in Croatia. The new parliament convened for the first time on 30 May, elected Franjo Tuđman as President of the Croatian Presidency and soon after renamed the office to President of Croatia.

Parliamentary elections were held in Croatia on 2 August 1992, alongside presidential elections. They were the first elections after independence and under the new constitution. All 138 seats in the Chamber of Representatives were up for election. The result was a victory for the Croatian Democratic Union, which won an absolute majority of 85 seats. Voter turnout was 75.6%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dražen Budiša</span> Croatian politician

Dražen Budiša is a Croatian politician who used to be a leading opposition figure in the 1990s and a two-time presidential candidate. As president of the Croatian Social Liberal Party through the 1990s he remains to date the only Leader of the Opposition not to have been from either the Croatian Democratic Union or the Social Democratic Party.

The Zagreb crisis is the political crisis that followed the elections for the City of Zagreb local assembly held in October 1995. During the crisis the winning parties were unable to appoint their candidate for the Mayor of Zagreb because President of Croatia Franjo Tuđman refused to provide the formal confirmation of their decision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Croatian parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Croatia on 25 November 2007 and for overseas voters on 24 and 25 November. The campaign officially started on 3 November. The President of Croatia announced elections on 17 October and 14 days were allowed for candidate lists to be submitted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabinet of Ivica Račan I</span>

The Seventh Government of the Republic of Croatia was the first of two Croatian Government cabinets led by Prime Minister Ivica Račan. It was appointed on 27 January 2000 by a decree of the Acting President of the Republic and Speaker of Parliament, Vlatko Pavletić. The cabinet was confirmed by a parliamentary vote of confidence in the Chamber of Representatives on 2 February 2000, with 122 of 151 Members of Parliament voting for, 1 against and 1 abstaining. Its term ended on 30 July 2002, when it was reconstructed and replaced by Cabinet of Ivica Račan II. The cabinet was formed following the 2000 parliamentary elections, in which the centre-right party Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) was defeated by a broad coalition of several centre-left parties. This marked an end to HDZ's dominance in Croatian politics since the first multi-party election in 1990. However, the period under Prime Minister Račan was marred with constant disagreements among coalition members, which later led to some parties leaving the ruling coalition. This ultimately paved the way for HDZ's return to power in the 2003 parliamentary elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Croatian parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Croatia on 8 November 2015. All 151 seats in the Parliament were up for election. This parliamentary election was the 8th since the first multi-party election in 1990 and the first since Croatia joined the European Union in 2013. The ruling center-left Croatia is Growing coalition, led by Prime Minister Zoran Milanović, was challenged by the center-right Patriotic Coalition led by the HDZ and headed by its party chairman Tomislav Karamarko, and also faced several new political coalitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Croatian parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Croatia on 5 July 2020. They were the tenth parliamentary elections since the first multi-party elections in 1990 and elected the 151 members of the Croatian Parliament. 140 Members of Parliament were elected from geographical electoral districts in Croatia, three MPs were chosen by the Croatian diaspora and eight MPs came from the ranks of citizens registered as belonging to any of the 22 constitutionally recognized national minorities.

Elections were held in Zagreb on 7 May 2000 for members of the Zagreb Assembly. The elections were called after the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) lost the majority in the Assembly, and the Croatian Government dismissed it and appointed an acting mayor.

References

  1. "Croatia's Parliamentary Elections" (PDF). govinfo.gov. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. 2000. pp. 1–5.
  2. 1 2 Waters, Trevor. "Croatia: Three Elections and a Funeral" (PDF). ethz.ch. Conflict Studies Research Centre.
  3. "Novi List: 10". hsp1861.hr.