Croatian Parliament
Croatian Parliament Hrvatski sabor | |
---|---|
Unicameral | |
Leadership | |
Deputy Speakers | since 16 October 2020 |
Structure | |
Seats | 151 |
Political groups | Government (67)
Supported by (9)
|
Elections | |
Open party-list proportional representation | |
Last election | 5 July 2020 |
Next election | 17 April 2024 |
Meeting place | |
Parliament Palace, Zagreb | |
Website | |
sabor.hr |
The Croatian Parliament (
The Sabor's powers are defined by the
The oldest Sabor with extant records was held in
Historical background
The Sabor, in its various forms, has represented the identity and opinions of
In 1848, first modern Diet with the elected representatives was summoned (even high nobility and high dignitaries of the Catholic and Orthodox church remained ex officio members). The Sabor operated as the legislative authority during the existence of the
By the 1900s, the Party of Rights also made electoral gains in Dalmatia.[7] In Dalmatia, the Autonomists won the first three elections held there in 1861, 1864 and 1867, while those from 1870 to 1908 were won by the People's Party. In 1861–1918, there were 17 elections in Croatia-Slavonia and 10 in Dalmatia.[6]
Exercising its sovereignty once again on 29 October 1918, the Sabor decided on independence from
The post-World War II Sabor developed from the
During Communist rule, the Sabor went from a unicameral parliament as specified by the 1947 constitution, to bicameral in 1953, changing again in 1963 to as many as five chambers and then to three in 1974. The constitutional amendments of 1971 established the Presidency of the Sabor, and one of its functions became representing Croatia,[3] as the Yugoslav constituent republics were essentially viewed as nation-states generally surrendering only their foreign and defence policies to the federation; the federal bodies were no longer independent of, but instead formed by, the republics (after 1974 constitution, this role was taken by newly formed Presidency of the Republic elected by the Sabor).[16]
The first political party founded in Croatia since the beginning of the Communist rule was the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS), established on 20 May 1989, followed by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) on 17 June 1989. In December,
Parliamentary powers
The Parliament
The members are granted parliamentary immunity; their criminal prosecution is possible only after parliamentary consent, except for crimes with five or more years of imprisonment mandated. The parliament may appoint investigative commissions for any matter of public interest.[4]
The Croatian parliament's powers are defined by the Constitution of Croatia. These include: defining economic, legal and political relations in the Republic of Croatia; preservation of Croatia's natural and cultural heritage and its utilisation; and forming alliances with other states. The parliament has the right to deploy
The Government is responsible to the parliament; some other institutions, such as the Croatian National Bank and the State Audit Office, also report directly to the parliament. The parliament appoints an ombudsman to promote and protect human rights and liberties established by the constitution, parliamentary legislation and treaties adopted by Croatia. The ombudsman is appointed for an eight-year term; the ombudsman's work is independent. The ombudsman, as well as all other persons authorised to act on behalf of the parliament, is granted parliamentary immunity equal to that enjoyed by parliamentary members.[4]
Speaker of the Parliament
The members of the parliament elect the Speaker of the Parliament and one or more deputy speakers by a simple majority vote.[4]
Since the first multi-party elections held after the start of Communist rule, there have been eight speakers of the parliament; the first five, executing the office until constitutional amendments in March 2001, were also speakers of the Chamber of Deputies (since the parliament was bicameral at the time).[27] As of 28 December 2015, Željko Reiner (HDZ) is the tenth Speaker of the Sabor. There are five deputy speakers in the current parliament: Ante Sanader (HDZ), Rajko Ostojić (SDP), Željko Reiner (HDZ), Davorko Vidović (Ind.) and Furio Radin (Ind.).
The speaker of the parliament becomes the acting President of the Republic in the event of the death, resignation or incapacitation[B] of the President of Croatia, as specified by the constitution.[4] This situation occurred after the death of Franjo Tuđman in 1999, when Vlatko Pavletić became the acting president.[28] After the 2000 parliamentary elections, the role was transferred to Zlatko Tomčić, who filled the office until Stjepan Mesić was elected President of Croatia in 2000.[29]
Name | From | To | Party | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Žarko Domljan | 30 May 1990 | 7 September 1992 | HDZ | |
Stjepan Mesić | 7 September 1992 | 24 May 1994 | HDZ | |
Nedjeljko Mihanović | 24 May 1994 | 28 November 1995 | HDZ | |
Vlatko Pavletić | 28 November 1995 | 2 February 2000 | HDZ | |
Zlatko Tomčić | 2 February 2000 | 22 December 2003 | HSS | |
Vladimir Šeks | 22 December 2003 | 11 January 2008 | HDZ | |
Luka Bebić | 11 January 2008 | 22 December 2011 | HDZ | |
Boris Šprem | 22 December 2011 | 30 September 2012 | SDP | |
Josip Leko | 10 October 2012 | 28 December 2015 | SDP | |
Željko Reiner | 28 December 2015 | 14 October 2016 | HDZ | |
Božo Petrov | 14 October 2016 | 4 May 2017 | MOST
| |
Gordan Jandroković | 5 May 2017 | Incumbent | HDZ | |
Source: Former Speakers of the Parliament |
Composition
This article needs to be updated.(October 2020) |
The Constitution of Croatia mandates that the parliament consists of at least 100 members and no more than 160 members, elected by a direct secret ballot for four-year terms. Parliamentary elections are held within 60 days following the term's expiration or parliamentary dissolution (the latter takes place with a parliamentary no-confidence vote or if the parliament fails to approve a state budget within 120 days after the government submits one for approval), and a new parliament must convene within 20 days after the elections.[4]
As specified by the current electoral legislation in Croatia, 140 members of the Parliament are elected in multi-seat constituencies, up to 3 members are chosen by proportional representation to represent Croatian citizens residing abroad and 8 members represent ethnic and national communities or minorities (including "undeclared", "unknown", or otherwise other than constitutionally recognized groups).[30]
The model of parliamentary elections is based on the
Previous parliamentary elections
Since 1990, seven parliamentary elections have been held in Croatia. The elections held in 1990 were the first multi-party elections following 45 years of Communist rule. The Parliament had three chambers at the time; the candidates ran for all 80 seats in the Social-Political Council of Croatia, all 116 seats to the Municipalities Council of Croatia and all 160 seats to the Associated Labour Council of Croatia. The first round of the election saw a turnout of 85.5%; the turnout for the runoff election was 74.8%. In this election, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won 205 seats and the Social Democratic Party of Croatia won 107. Between then and 2007, five parliamentary elections were held for the Chamber of Deputies (Croatian: Zastupnički dom) of the parliament or the unicameral parliament since (in 1992, 1995, 2000, 2003 and 2007). Starting with the 1992 elections, the number of seats first in the Chamber of Deputies, and then in the unicameral parliament, were significantly variable: ranging from 127 in 1995 to 153 in 2007. In the Croatian parliamentary elections held since 1992, when the number of seats in the parliament was limited to below 160, only 5 parties have won 10 seats or more in any one parliamentary election. These were the HDZ, the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), the Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats (HNS), the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) and the SDP.[22]
Several political parties, besides the HDZ, HSS, HNS, HSLS and SDP, have won parliamentary seats in the elections since 1990. These have been (in alphabetical order): the
In addition, some
Parliamentary elections overview since 1990 (Tricameral parliament (1990), Chamber of Representatives (Lower house 1990–2001), unicameral parliament (2001–present)) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Election | Turnout | Results | Cabinet(s)
|
1990 | * | 1st assembly | Cabinet of Stjepan Mesić, Cabinet of Josip Manolić, Cabinet of Franjo Gregurić |
1992 | 75.6% | 2nd assembly |
Cabinet of Hrvoje Šarinić, Cabinet of Nikica Valentić |
1995 | 68.8% | 3rd assembly | Cabinet of Zlatko Mateša |
2000 | 70.5% | 4th assembly |
Cabinet of Ivica Račan I, Cabinet of Ivica Račan II |
2003 | 61.7% | 5th assembly |
Cabinet of Ivo Sanader I |
2007 | 59.5% | 6th assembly |
Cabinet of Ivo Sanader II, Cabinet of Jadranka Kosor |
2011 | 54.3% | 7th assembly |
Cabinet of Zoran Milanović |
2015 | 60.8% | 8th assembly |
Cabinet of Tihomir Orešković |
2016 | 52.6% | 9th assembly |
Cabinet of Andrej Plenković I |
2020 | 46.4% | 10th assembly |
Cabinet of Andrej Plenković II |
Source: State Election Commission[22] |
(*)In the first multi-party elections in 1990 three parliamentary chambers were elected in a two-round majoritarian system: the Social-Political Council, the Council of Municipalities and the Council of Associated Labour. Turnout for the election each chamber varied. It was as follows: Social-Political council (84.5% in first round in all constituencies, 74.82% in second round in 51 of 80 constituencies), Council of Municipalities (84.1% in first round, 74.6% in second round) and Council of Associated Labour (76.5% in first round in all constituencies, 66% in second round in 103 of 160 constituencies).
Seats won in parliamentary elections (since 1990, Chamber of Deputies or unicameral parliament) | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | 1990 | 1992 | 1995 | 2000 | 2003 | 2007 | 2011 | 2015 | 2016 | 2020 |
Alliance of Primorje-Gorski Kotar | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
Bloc for Croatia | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
Bloc of Pensioners - Together | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – |
Bosniak Democratic Party of Croatia | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – |
Bridge of Independent Lists |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | 19 | 13 | 8 |
Civic Liberal Alliance | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
Coalition of People's Accord | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Croatian Christian Democratic Union | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – |
Croatian Citizen Party |
– | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – |
Croatian Democratic Alliance of Slavonia and Baranja | – | – | – | - | – | 3 | 6 | 2 | 1 | – |
Croatian Democratic Peasant Party | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
Croatian Democratic Union | 55 | 85 | 75 | 46 | 66 | 66 | 44 | 50 | 57 | 62 |
Croatian Growth | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | – |
Croatian Labourists – Labour Party | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | 3 | – | – |
Croatian Party of Pensioners | – | – | – | – | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Croatian Party of Rights | – | 5 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
Croatian Party of Rights dr. Ante Starčević |
– | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 3 | – | – |
Croatian Peasant Party | – | 3 | 10 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats | – | 6 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 1 |
Croatian Social Liberal Party | – | 14 | 12 | 25 | 2 | 2 | – | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Croatian Sovereignists | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 |
Dalmatian Action |
– | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Democratic Centre | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – |
Democratic Union of Hungarians of Croatia | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
Fokus | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
German People's Union | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
Human Blockade |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 4 | – |
Independent Democratic Serb Party | – | – | – | – | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Istrian Democratic Assembly | – | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Liberal Party | – | – | – | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – |
Milan Bandić 365 - The Party of Labour and Solidarity |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 1 | – |
Miroslav Škoro Homeland Movement |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 9 |
New Left | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
Party of Democratic Action of Croatia | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
People's Party - Reformists |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Party of Liberal Democrats |
– | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – |
Party with a First and Last Name | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
Serb Democratic Party | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Serb People's Party | – | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Slavonia-Baranja Croatian Party | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Smart |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
Social Democratic Action of Croatia | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Social Democratic Party of Croatia | 20 | 6 | 10 | 43 | 34 | 56 | 61 | 42 | 39 | 32 |
We can! | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 |
Independent |
1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Source: State Election Commission[22] |
Chamber of Counties
Under the Constitution of Croatia adopted in 1990, the parliament became
Speakers of the Chamber of Counties | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Start | End | Party | |
Josip Manolić | 22 March 1993 | 23 May 1994 | HDZ | |
Katica Ivanišević | 23 May 1994 | 28 March 2001 | HDZ |
Seats won in parliamentary elections by individual parties Chamber of Counties elections 1993–1997 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | 1993 | 1997 | ||||
Croatian Democratic Union | 39 | 42 | ||||
Croatian Party of Rights | – | 2 | ||||
Croatian Peasant Party | 5 | 9 | ||||
Croatian People's Party | 1 | – | ||||
Croatian Social Liberal Party | 16 | 7 | ||||
Istrian Democratic Assembly | 3 | 2 | ||||
Social Democratic Party of Croatia | 1 | 4 | ||||
Independent |
3 | 2 | ||||
Source: State Election Commission[22][35] |
Publication of proceedings
The Croatian Parliament publishes all its decisions in
Parliamentary location
The Sabor has convened in Zagreb since the 13th century, but there was no special building for this until the 18th century. Previously, sessions of the Sabor had been held in private houses, in royal estates in
In 1731, the government purchased houses at the site of the present building and construction of a new building started the next year. The Sabor first met in the new building on 6 May 1737. The building was originally designed to accommodate
In 1907, the government of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia bought the parliament building and adjacent structures, starting construction of the present parliament building. At the same time, the Zagreb County government moved its headquarters elsewhere, leaving the Sabor as the sole user. The present parliament building was completed in 1911 using the design of Lav Kalda and Karlo Susan.[43]
Due to the renovation works on the Sabor Palace following the events of the 2020 Zagreb earthquake, in 2024 the parliament has decided to temporarily relocate to the Črnomerec district, in the Petar Zrinski Barracks, the site of the Croatian Military Academy "Dr. Franjo Tuđman" .[45] The exact date of the relocation and of the beginning of the reconstruction are not yet known.
See also
Notes
- ^ Note: the Croatian word Sabor is used only for the Croatian parliament. For the parliaments of other countries, Croatian speakers use the words parlament (parliament) or skupština (assembly).[1]
- ^ Incapacitation is determined by the Constitutional Court of Croatia upon a request by the government; the constitution itself does not specify exactly what is incapacitation.
- ^ The representatives themselves are not required to be minorities, but are historically very likely to be.
- ^
- HDZ (62)
- HDS (1)
- Independent (1)
- ^ SDSS represents the Serbian national minority
- ^
- ^
- ^
- ^
- Social Democrats (11)
- Independent (6)
- ^
- The Bridge (7)
- Independent (1)
- ^
- ^
- We Can! (4)
- NL (1)
- Independent (1)
- ^
- ^
- ^
- IDS (2)
- Italian minority representative (1)
- ^
- ^
- Just Croatia (1)
- Independent (2)
References
- ^ "Hrvatski sabor obilježava Međunarodni dan demokracije" [Croatian Parliament marks the international day of democracy] (in Croatian). Sabor. 15 September 2009. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- ^ "Knife-Edge Result Likely in Croatian Elections". Balkan Insight. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- ^ Sabor. Archivedfrom the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Ustav Republike Hrvatske" [Constitution of the Republic of Croatia]. Narodne Novine (in Croatian). 9 July 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-57607-800-6. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ^ ISSN 1845-4380. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ISSN 1330-0474. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ISSN 1332-4853. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-57607-294-3. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-19-929131-1.
- Sabor. Archived from the originalon 3 December 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ISSN 0584-9063. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-7546-3234-4. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
- ISSN 0570-9008. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ISSN 1847-2397. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
- ISBN 978-1-55753-495-8. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
- ^ ISSN 0584-9063. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
- ^ "Statut" [Constitution] (in Croatian). Croatian Peasant Party. 19 December 2009. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ISSN 1330-0474. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ "Ceremonial session of the Croatian Parliament on the occasion of the Day of Independence of the Republic of Croatia". Official web site of the Croatian Parliament. Sabor. 7 October 2004. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ^ "Prethodne vlade RH" [Previous governments of the Republic of Croatia] (in Croatian). Croatian Government. Archived from the original on 23 November 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Arhiva izbora" [Elections Archive] (in Croatian). State Election Commission. Archived from the original on 31 October 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ Eduard Šoštarić (11 December 2006). "Višak generala HV-u prepreka za NATO" [Surplus of Croatian Army generals is an obstacle to NATO] (in Croatian). Nacional (weekly). Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
- ^ "Stragegija obrane (NN 33/02)" [Defence strategy (OG 33/02)] (in Croatian). Ministry of Defence (Croatia). Archived from the original on 11 May 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- ^ "Stragegija nactionalne sigurnosti Republike Hrvatske (NN 33/02)" [National security strategy of the Republic of Croatia (OG 33/02)] (in Croatian). Ministry of Defence (Croatia). Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- ^ Ivanka Toma (22 December 2011). "Novi članovi Banskih dvora – Milanovićevih 21" [New members of Banski Dvori – Milanović's 21]. Večernji list (in Croatian). Retrieved 23 December 2011.
- ^ "Prethodni predsjednici Sabora" [Previous Speakers of the Parliament] (in Croatian). Sabor. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
- ^ "Akademik Vlatko Pavletić, predsjednik Sabora od 1995. do 2000. godine" [Academician Vlatko Pavletić, Speaker of the Parliament from 1995 to 2000] (in Croatian). Sabor. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
- ^ "Zlatko Tomčić, predsjednik Sabora od 2000. do 2003. godine" [Zlatko Tomčić, Speaker of the Parliament from 2000 to 2003] (in Croatian). Sabor. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
- ^ "About the Parliament". Sabor. Archived from the original on 6 July 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
- ^ "Izborni modeli za parlamentarne izbore". Izborna enciklopedija (in Croatian). State Election Committee (Državno izborno povjerenstvo). 2008. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- ^ "Croatian parliament backs changes to electoral law". europeanvoice.com. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
- ISSN 0032-3241. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ "Ustav Republike Hrvatske (NN 056/1990)" [Constitution of the Republic of Croatia (NN 056/1990)] (in Croatian). HIDRA. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
- ^ a b "Rezultati izbora za županijski dom Sabora Republike Hrvatske 1997. godine" [Results of Election for the Chamber of Counties of the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia in Year 1997] (PDF) (in Croatian). State Election Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- Croatian Constitutional Court. Archived from the originalon 15 April 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
- Narodne Novine. Archived from the originalon 15 July 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
- Narodne Novine. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
- ^ "Saborska televizija dostupna i na Internetu" [Parliament television also available on the internet] (in Croatian). Nova TV (Croatia). 25 January 2007. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ "Sjednice sabora" [Sessions of the Parliament] (in Croatian). Sabor. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ "Public Relations Department". Sabor. Archived from the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ "Izvješća Hrvatskoga sabora – tjedni pregled" [Croatian Parliament reports – weekly review] (in Croatian). Sabor. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
- ^ a b c "Povijest saborske palače" [History of the parliament palace] (in Croatian). Sabor. Archived from the original on 4 May 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^ "Hrvatska kraljevinska konferencija iz 1729. donijela prvi proračun hrvatskoga kraljevstva". Saborske povijesne zanimljivosti (in Croatian). Croatian Parliament. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^ ""Objavljeni svi detalji o preseljenju Sabora: u zgrade na Črnomercu uložit će se oko dva milijuna eura"" (in Croatian). Telegram.hr. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
Further reading
- Mašić, Barbara (2010). "Stranačka struktura Hrvatskog sabora 1990–2010". Pravnik (in Croatian). 44 (89): 67–82. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
External links
- Official website of the Croatian Parliament (in Croatian)
- Official website of the Croatian Parliament (in English)
- Internet Television of the Croatian Parliament (in Croatian)