Successful minority elections in Croatia require government support, OSCE Mission Head says

ZAGREB, 25 April 2003 - The Head of the OSCE Mission to Croatia, Ambassador Peter Semneby, said today that the Government should provide support for the organization of upcoming elections for minority self-government scheduled to take place on 18 May.

He also invited ethnic minorities to participate in the elections despite the very tight deadlines.

The elections are a key step in the implementation of the Constitutional Law on National Minorities which was adopted last December and welcomed by the OSCE, the EU and other international organizations.

Ambassador Semneby was speaking at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia, Ante Simonic, today. He expressed the OSCE Mission's interest in the elections, particularly in light of concerns by minority communities that election deadlines are too tight and that they will be left on their own to face a huge organizational task.

"These elections are a big undertaking for the minority communities and for this reason it is important for the Government to provide support to enable minority associations to nominate candidates and to run the campaign," Ambassador Semneby said.

"Adequate information to voters should be provided to ensure that elections are a success and the new minority bodies become legitimate for the expression of the concerns of minorities.

"This requires efforts on all sides including the minorities," he told the Deputy Prime Minister.

Ambassador Semneby invited minorities to participate in the elections. "The Mission is in favour of elections taking place successfully. It is crucial that minority communities participate but that will require efforts from all sides," he said. He added that the Mission is looking into ways of assisting the work of non-governmental organizations in supporting the elections.