Post by MiG on Jan 11, 2008 12:31:18 GMT -5
Croatia: New parliament convenes its first session
Zagreb, 11 Jan. (AKI) – The Croatian parliament held its first session on Friday after the November polls and elected its new speaker, Luka Bebic, from the ruling centre-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).
Bebic, a HDZ veteran politician, replaces his party colleague Vladimir Seks. HDZ returned 66 MPs to the 153-seat parliament, and prime minister designate Ivo Sanader is due to form a new coalition government on Saturday with several minor parties.
After weeks of consultations, Sanader said on Friday he had secured an 83-seat majority, six more seats than needed.
He is seeking to use his second term in office to carry out further reforms necessary for the former Yugoslav republic to become a member of the European Union and NATO.
The HDZ led Croatia to independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991 under its founder and first president Franjo Tudjman, but it will face a strong opposition in parliament from its arch-rival the Social Democratic Party (SDP), former communists, who won a record 56 seats.
Sanader's main coalition partners are expected to be the Croatian Peasants Party, the Croatian Social Liberal party and the Independent Democratic Serbian Party (SDSS).
Ethnic Serbs represented over 12 per cent of Croatia’s 4.5 million population before the war of secession, but over 200,000 fled to Serbia during the war.
The SDSS will get a post of deputy prime minister in charge of regional development and the return of refugees. It has already named its candidate, Slobodan Uzelac.
The new parliament also has its first MP elected from the tiny Roma minority, Nazif Memedi.
Memedi, was elected to represent the Roma - about 0.01 percent of Croatia's population - and 11 other minorities including Russians, Poles and Jews.
There are eight seats reserved for minorities in the parliament, including three for ethnic Serbs.
Zagreb, 11 Jan. (AKI) – The Croatian parliament held its first session on Friday after the November polls and elected its new speaker, Luka Bebic, from the ruling centre-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).
Bebic, a HDZ veteran politician, replaces his party colleague Vladimir Seks. HDZ returned 66 MPs to the 153-seat parliament, and prime minister designate Ivo Sanader is due to form a new coalition government on Saturday with several minor parties.
After weeks of consultations, Sanader said on Friday he had secured an 83-seat majority, six more seats than needed.
He is seeking to use his second term in office to carry out further reforms necessary for the former Yugoslav republic to become a member of the European Union and NATO.
The HDZ led Croatia to independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991 under its founder and first president Franjo Tudjman, but it will face a strong opposition in parliament from its arch-rival the Social Democratic Party (SDP), former communists, who won a record 56 seats.
Sanader's main coalition partners are expected to be the Croatian Peasants Party, the Croatian Social Liberal party and the Independent Democratic Serbian Party (SDSS).
Ethnic Serbs represented over 12 per cent of Croatia’s 4.5 million population before the war of secession, but over 200,000 fled to Serbia during the war.
The SDSS will get a post of deputy prime minister in charge of regional development and the return of refugees. It has already named its candidate, Slobodan Uzelac.
The new parliament also has its first MP elected from the tiny Roma minority, Nazif Memedi.
Memedi, was elected to represent the Roma - about 0.01 percent of Croatia's population - and 11 other minorities including Russians, Poles and Jews.
There are eight seats reserved for minorities in the parliament, including three for ethnic Serbs.
Source: www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Politics/?id=1.0.1759429945