Croatia’s July general election in question after sudden surge in COVID-19 cases

Croatia’s July general election in question after sudden surge in COVID-19 cases
By bne IntelliNews June 21, 2020

A debate has opened in Croatia over the general elections scheduled for July 5 after a sudden increase in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the country. 

Croatia had managed to almost eliminate the virus, with the daily number of new cases having stayed at zero or close to zero for several months now. However, in the last week there has been a worrying upturn in the number of new cases, with 19 reported on June 20, bringing the total in the country to 2,299. 

Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic, who heads the national COVID-19 response team, said on June 20 that there are no indications that the parliamentary elections would need to be postponed, state news agency Hina reported. He also said there are no plans to introduce additional restrictions in Croatia. 

However, opposition leaders have criticised the government response, with some saying the election needs to be postponed. 

Bozo Petrov of the Bridge Party said on June 20 that the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) was considering postponing the vote.

Meanwhile, Davor Bernardic of Croatia’s main opposition party the Social Democratic Party (SDP) said Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic — who until now has largely retained voters’ support for his handling of the crisis — was solely responsible, and said the SDP had warned of the potential risks of holding elections at this point, according to a party statement. 

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