Zagreb - Despite criticism from the opposition, the Parliamentary Committee on the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System on Tuesday decided by a majority vote to put draft Constitutional amendments regarding referenda and the Constitutional Court Act to a month-long public consultation.
Seven members of the ruling party were in favour of these proposals, while four members of the opposition were against the proposed draft amendment to the Constitution regarding referenda and the amendment regarding the Constitutional Court, and abstained from the vote on sending them to public consultation.
During the debate, the opposition warned that the text that was presented to the Committee was identical to an earlier proposal for amendments to the Constitution, but none of their objections, suggestions or criticism presented at the Committee or at a plenary session were approved.
Peđa Grbin (SDP) warned that according to the proposed amendments, the Constitutional Court will have full discretion to decide what is allowed and what is not related to referendum decision-making, which in his words is not good.
He believes that matters that cannot be the subject of a referendum should be explicitly stated in the Constitution itself.
Sandra Benčić (We Can) said that the Constitution will not be amended if it does not include the issues of regulating the right to freedom of choice to have children, which includes the entire spectrum of reproductive rights.
She disputed the fact that the Constitutional Court can broadly and arbitrarily ban any referendum initiative by declaring it to be inconsistent with the values of the Constitution.
Unlike the opposition, Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) whip Branko Bačić said that he had not seen a formalised proposal for amendments to the Constitution from any of the parliamentary opposition groups.
Bačić said that they have at least one month in front of them in which the Committee can discuss amendments to the Constitution and the Constitutional Law and to discuss the proposals before and during the parliamentary debate itself. He noted that during the talks they had with the left opposition, there were different proposals, so it would be good for the opposition to come to an agreement.