The Croatian Parliament voted on Wednesday, the final day of the spring session, on the Resolution on the Political Empowerment of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, proposed by the Homeland Movement. 83 MPs voted in favour of the document, three abstained, and one voted against, Hina reported.
Dalija Orešković (DOSiP) voted against, two MPs from the Serb Democratic Party (SDSS) and Bosniak national minority representative Armin Hodžić abstained, while the left-wing opposition did not participate in the vote. Alongside the ruling majority, the resolution was supported by Most, independent MPs Marija Selak Raspudić and Nino Raspudić, and Ivica Baksa (NPS).
The resolution, through nine points, calls on the government to continue supporting full political equality for Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina within the framework of a political system reform that would ensure fair elections, where each constituent people would elect their legitimate representatives. The Parliament supports the electoral models proposed by legitimate representatives of the Croatian people, including the proposal for a separate electoral unit for the election of the Croatian member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The document condemns "open calls for electoral engineering to outvote Croats" in the election of the Croatian member of the Presidency and delegates to the House of Peoples. Croats with citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina are urged by the resolution to exercise their voting rights in the general elections on 4 October.
Homeland Movement president and Parliament deputy speaker Ivan Penava stated that the resolution sends a message that Croatia will not passively watch Croats being outvoted in the neighbouring country. He expressed particular satisfaction that both the left and right wings of the Parliament agree on the equality and constituent status of the Croatian people, as well as support for Bosnia and Herzegovina's European path.
Parts of the right-wing opposition consider the final text significantly diluted compared to the original proposal. "Of the seven substantive points contained in the original draft of the Resolution, six and a half have been removed, and we have received one very diluted Resolution," said Nino Raspudić, while still announcing his support. Most submitted eight amendments, but the proposer and the ruling majority rejected all of them.
From the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), responses to the criticisms stated that Croatia has not advocated more strongly for the position of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the war than it does today, and that the Croatian issue has been raised to the European level, according to MP Dario Pušić.
