Original scientific paper

Abolishing All Mechanisms for Fixing Elections: The Citizens' Initiative to Change the Electoral System of Croatia

Robert Podolnjak orcid.org/0000-0001-6812-5684 ; University of Zagreb

Abstract

In October 2014 a citizens’ initiative called ‘In the Name of the Family’ collected more than 380,000 signatures demanding a constitutional referendum on comprehensive electoral reform in Croatia. The Initiative aimed to introduce preferential voting for MPs; new criteria for the establishment of electoral constituencies; a lower electoral threshold from five to three per cent; a ban on pre-electoral coalitions and joint lists of several parties; and postal and electronic voting. The constitutional referendum demanded by the initiative was not held due to the organizers collecting an insufficient number of signatures for the referendum petition to be valid, and only a limited reform of the electoral system was enacted with the introduction of preferential voting for MPs. What had started as a bottom-up citizens’ initiative (or ‘mass imposition’ in Renwick’s terminology) finally ended as an ‘elite majority imposition’ of an electoral reform.

Keywords

Citizens’ Initiative; Electoral System; Croatia; Referendum; Civil Society

Hrčak ID:

159916

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/159916

Publication date:

15.3.2016.

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