Zagreb - The parliamentary Constitution and Political System Committee on Wednesday shortlisted four candidates for three Constitutional Court positions: Ana Horvat Vuković, Željko Pajalić, Goran Selanec and Mladen Sučević, and the Sabor is expected to debate and vote on the candidates next week.
Of the 16 valid applications, the four shortlisted candidates each received seven votes in individual committee ballots, securing a majority. Their appointments require a two-thirds majority of all MPs and will be decided by secret ballot.
Opposition MPs challenged the order in which the candidates would appear on the ballot and requested a recess.
Committee chairman Ivan Malenica proposed listing them in the following order: Sučević, Horvat Vuković, Pajalić and Selanec. Asked by SDP MP Arsen Bauk why this order had been chosen, given that it followed neither alphabetical order nor the number of votes received, Malenica said the decision was his as committee chairman.
After a ten-minute recess, opposition members returned, with Bauk calling the move an unnecessary precedent. The proposed list was ultimately approved by seven votes, all cast by members of the ruling majority.
Horvat Vuković and Selanec were nominated by the SDP, which said it would no longer take part in closed-door discussions with the HDZ, insisting that the process should be transparent.
Pajalić, Selanec and Sučević were also nominated in the first selection process in April, but failed to secure a majority amid a deadlock between the left-wing opposition and the ruling majority.
The Opposition had objected to the HDZ's proposal to link the Constitutional Court appointments to the selection of the Supreme Court president and allocate two seats to ruling-party nominees and one to the opposition.
The 13-member Constitutional Court has been operating with just 10 judges since April. Its president, Frane Staničić, recently urged MPs to appoint the three remaining judges without further delay.