Croatia is to get a new electoral roll which will better portray the real situation, Administration Minister Arsen Bauk said in parliament on Tuesday when he presented a bill on the register of voters.
It is vital that the electoral roll shows the true situation of the electorate, Bauk said. At the moment Interior Ministry records show that Croatia has around 5 million citizens whereas the population census indicates a population of 4.4 million.
This irregular situation in the electoral roll is particularly evident in areas where, prior to the Homeland War, there were majority Serb populations who are still registered in residency records. A similar situation exists along border regions with Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Croatian citizens live on both sides of the border.
The bill facilitates the establishment of a unique electronic database consisting of two records - the register of voters and the electoral roll.
Bauk explained that the electoral roll would be compiled from the register of all Croatian citizens residing in Croatia with a valid identification card as a minimum requirement, about 3,750,000, which he said was more realistic than the current 4,100,000 people registered in the electoral roll.
The register would include the remaining 339,650 citizens with the right of vote in three categories (permanent residents, temporary residents and EU citizens).
Electoral rolls would be compiled after the register is closed and concluded at least eight days prior to holding an election or referendum.
The bill introduces the institute of active registration of Croatian citizens who are not permanent residents in Croatia but wish to vote at elections or referendums.
Active registration would be conducted prior to each election and only actively registered voters will be incorporated in electoral rolls. Registration will be conducted in diplomatic offices abroad or relevant offices if these voters should be in Croatia at that particular time.
This should remove any chance of people who have died to still be listed on electoral rolls.
"This will give us a more realistic picture of voters interested in voting and lay the foundations for the introduction of some other instruments at future elections rather than having them vote at diplomatic offices", Bauk said.
The bill also foresees that all Croatian citizens be registered according to their place of residence while national minorities would be included on an additional list which should eliminate segregation where members of minorities have to state their national belonging at the actual polling booths.
