Right of the citizens of other EU Member States in elections for the representative bodies of local and regional self-government units

The Act on the Right of Citizens of Other EU Member States in Elections for the Representative Bodies of Local and Regional Self-Government Units is a regulation adopted for the purpose of further alignment of the Croatian legislation with the acquis communautaire in the field of exercising active and passive suffrage in local elections.

Active and passive suffrage of the citizens of other EU Member States

Citizens of other EU Member States with domicile or temporary residence in a local and regional self-government unit where elections are to be held are entitled to vote and stand as candidates for the members of the representative bodies of that unit. 

A citizen of another EU Member State is obligated to submit an application for registration in the electoral register to the competent authority keeping the electoral register according to their domicile or temporary residence, not later than 30 days before election day. 

A citizen of another EU Member State may stand as a candidate and be elected as member of the representative body under the same conditions as Croatian citizens, as stipulated by the Act on the Election of Members of the Representative Bodies of Local and Regional Self-Government Units. 

Nomination and election of the citizens of other EU Member States

A citizen of another EU Member State may stand as a candidate and be elected as member of the representative body under the same conditions as Croatian citizens, as stipulated by the Act on the Election of Members of the Representative Bodies of Local and Regional Self-Government Units, and provided that they have not been deprived of legal capacity in the Republic of Croatia or the EU Member State of their citizenship by a final and binding judgement, or that they have not been deprived of the right to stand as a candidate by an individual criminal law or civil law decision. 

If a citizen of another EU Member State is a candidate on a slate for the election of members of a representative body, the slate or the nomination must be accompanied by a notarised statement of the candidate stating their citizenship and address of their domicile or temporary residence on the territory of the unit where elections are to take place, along with proof i.e. a document issued by the competent authorities of the Member State of their citizenship certifying that the candidate has not been deprived of the right to stand as candidate in that Member State or that no such disqualification is known to that Member State. 

Protection of electoral rights

A competent electoral commission establishes the validity of a slate of candidates. 

If the competent electoral commission declares a slate of candidates invalid, a candidate who is a citizen of another EU Member State is entitled to a complaint to the competent electoral commission, and the right to appeal to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia, in accordance with the provisions on the protection of electoral rights stipulated in the law governing the manner, conditions and procedure for electing members of representative bodies.