Milanović cannot be a candidate for prime minister while president of Croatia

(Patria) - The Constitutional Court of Croatia today, after a professional meeting and a session of constitutional judges, made a decision regarding the announced candidacy of President Zoran Milanović in the upcoming parliamentary elections on the SDP list.

"There is public interest. Based on Article 125, in the oversight procedure, we issue a warning: The Constitutional Court at its session considered Milanović's statement that he will run as an independent and non-partisan candidate of the SDP. The Constitutional Court warns all bodies in the process. Article 96 stipulates that he cannot hold another public office and must resign. The President is a non-partisan person and must not participate in party activities. He cannot be on a list or be a candidate.

Article 96 of the Constitution stipulates that the President of the Republic cannot hold any other public or professional office, and that after the election, he resigns his membership in a political party, which he informs the Croatian Parliament about. The President of the Republic is a non-partisan person and while holding this office, must not participate in the political activities of any political party, which excludes any possibility for the President of the Republic, in the context of the announced parliamentary elections, to be a candidate on a list for the election of representatives or to be nominated as a candidate for the position of Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia and to participate in the political election campaign in that capacity.

The candidacy of the President of the Republic, while holding that office, on the list of any political party or independent list for the election of representatives to the Croatian Parliament, and his nomination as a candidate for Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia or any other public or professional office, is incompatible with his constitutional position and powers, and the principle of separation of powers (Article 4 of the Constitution).

If, based on his statements, the President of the Republic, while holding that office, runs for election as a representative to the Croatian Parliament, or appears in public as a future candidate for Prime Minister, he must immediately resign to the President of the Constitutional Court, in which case the duties of the interim President of the Republic by force of the Constitution are taken over by the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament (Article 97, paragraph 3 of the Constitution). Elections for a new President of the Republic must be held within 60 days from the date of taking over the duties of the interim President of the Republic (Article 97, paragraph 5 of the Constitution).

In the event of the resignation of the President of the Republic and the assumption of duties by the interim President of the Republic, the interim President of the Republic cannot simultaneously, while holding that office, be a candidate for election as a representative to the Croatian Parliament.

The Constitutional Court also reminds that responsibility for the legal consequences of constitutionally unacceptable decisions lies with their authors. Any action or behavior of the President of the Republic of Croatia contrary to the aforementioned constitutional prohibitions and requirements is contrary to the Constitution.

Bearing in mind the current constitutional and legal situation, the Constitutional Court emphasizes that the entire electoral process of these parliamentary elections, from their announcement to the expiry of the period referred to in Article 90 in conjunction with Article 88 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia, will be under the strict supervision of the Constitutional Court. If it determines that participants in the elections are acting contrary to the Constitution or law, the Constitutional Court will use its powers under Article 89 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia, from informing the public to annulling all or individual electoral actions and decisions, starting from the nomination process onwards.

The Constitutional Court calls on the President of the Republic and the Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP) to, in accordance with this Warning, immediately cease activities that are contrary to the Constitution, and the State Election Commission of the Republic of Croatia to ensure, in accordance with its powers, the conduct of the electoral process in accordance with the Constitution, laws, and its binding instructions, respecting the views from this Warning," it was explained after the session of the Constitutional Court of Croatia.

Nine judges voted for the decision, Abramović and Antičević Marinović were against.