Josip Vresk has admitted to taking bribes.
MOST issued a statement regarding the case of a member of the State Election Commission Josip Vresk, who admitted to Austrian investigators that he had received bribe from Hypo Bank for help in implementing investment projects in Croatia and for influencing the Croatian National Bank, reports Index.hr on August 20, 2016.
“MOST strongly condemns the current status quo of a member of the State Election Commission Josip Vresk. As part of court proceedings pending at the Provincial Court in Klagenfurt in Austria against the former head of Hypo Alpe Adria Bank Josef Kircher, he admitted to Austrian investigators that he had received money from the bank.
Given the fact that, according to media reports, Vresk received the last tranche of the money in May 2007 and that he became a member of the State Election Commission in March 2007, this means that at that moment he was already appointed to a position which required impartiality and moral integrity.
Of special concern is the fact that Davor Mlakar, a current member of the Constitutional Court, is also involved in the affair. We would like to remind everybody that Mlakar has recently been elected to the honourable duty of a constitutional judge by SDP and HDZ, which once again proved that ideological differences and disputes that are presented to citizens as insurmountable obstacles become totally irrelevant in their fight for positions in government.
MOST was clearly opposed to the election of Mlakar, but we were overruled by the powerful HDZSDP duopoly, which has continued to implement the already well-established practice of joint governance. For the first time, the Constitutional Court now includes a large number of politicians from both sides, which directly enables major influence of interest groups in the society.
On the other hand, although Vresk should unquestionably step down from his duties, he did not do that, and the Constitutional Court is protecting such irresponsible behaviour. The whole situation gains additional importance given the upcoming parliamentary elections, whose proper implementation will be, among others, the responsibility of Josip Vresk”, concludes MOST in its statement.
