ZAGREB, July 2, 2020 – Social Democratic Party leader Davor Bernardic who heads the RESTART coalition for the parliamentary election, said on Thursday that he expects the Constitutional Court’s opinion on the ban on people infected with coronavirus from voting.
“I expect it (the court) to give its opinion in line with the Constitution and that is that all citizens of the Republic of Croatia have to be enabled to exercise their right to vote. That is the only fair and normal thing. The State Electoral Commission (DIP) has to secure those conditions. DIP has to specify the conditions that will apply to people in self-isolation,” Bernardic told a press conference.
He called on everyone to consume their right guaranteed by the Constitution. It certainly is not good that people who are infected could come to polling stations, he underscored, however, DIP has to ensure that they can vote.
“That is the point. DIP has to make it possible for every eligible Croatian citizen to vote. That is in line with the Constitution,” he said and added that all citizens need to be equal before the law and the Constitution.
Commenting on DIP’s recommendations and the regularity of the election, Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) leader Kreso Beljak claimed that nobody had the right to strip citizens of their right to vote which is guaranteed in the Constitution.
“Why was the election called, when they knew what the situation was? That was the risk HDZ took and now they would like to justify that and bar individuals from voting. No, they cannot ban them. They could have held the election when the pandemic was over. They could have done anything. But they hoped to profit from the coronavirus. Well they won’t,” he said.
Asked whether it was responsible to call people who are infected with coronavirus to go to the polls, Beljak said that the responsibility did not lie with him or anyone in the Opposition who were against the election at this time but that that was the responsibility of those who insisted that the election be held at the height of the coronavirus epidemic and now want to ban people from voting.
