Milanović Rejects Constitutional Court Decision, Says He Will Not Resign

(Patria) - Croatian President Zoran Milanović has rejected the decision of the Croatian Constitutional Court that he cannot be a candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections unless he resigns, and said he does not intend to do so.

The Croatian Constitutional Court ruled that the incumbent President Zoran Milanović, as a non-partisan person in that office, must not be a candidate in the upcoming elections, but if he wishes to do so, he must step down from the position of head of state, reports RSE.

Milanović, who called the parliamentary elections in Croatia for April 17, announced three days ago that he would be the bearer of the SDP's electoral list in the first electoral district. He said he would run in the elections as an independent and non-partisan candidate on the SDP list, after which he would become prime minister.

The President of the Constitutional Court, Miroslav Šeparović, stated at today's press conference after the session that Milanović must not be a candidate for a seat in the Sabor, nor for prime minister, nor participate in any way in the election campaign.

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Milanović ne može biti kandidat za premijera dok je predsjednik Hrvatske

(Patria) - Ustavni sud Hrvatske danas je, nakon stručnog sastanka i sjednice ustavnih sudija, donio odluku o najavi kandidature predsjednika Zorana Milanovića na predstojećim parlamentarnim izborima na SDP-ovoj listi.

Šeparović said that if Milanović wants to run, he must first resign from the position of head of state, after which the president of parliament will assume the duties of president, and presidential elections should be called within 60 days.

He called on Milanović and the SDP to act in accordance with the country's Constitution. The Constitutional Court, he added, expects seriousness from Milanović and other participants in the electoral process.

Milanović, however, called the constitutional judges illiterate gangsters and their decision a constitutional coup. In a statement to reporters in Vela Luka on the island of Korčula, he said he would ultimately become prime minister and called on citizens to unite against the ruling HDZ.

- I will be a candidate in the elections, just as I could be in the European elections. I will not, of course, give the mandate to myself. What is controversial about that, illiterate gangsters? - Milanović asked, repeating that he will not resign as president so as not to leave all power to the HDZ.

If Milanović resigns as president, the current Speaker of the Sabor, Goran Jandroković from the ruling HDZ, would take over. The parliamentary elections were originally planned for autumn, but the government decided to hold them before the European Parliament elections in June.

The Croatian Sabor has 151 representatives, of which 140 are elected in ten electoral districts, three in the diaspora are elected by Croatian citizens living abroad, and eight are members of national minorities.