The Serb National Council has been putting forward candidates for national minority councils and representatives, elected in line with the procedure stipulated by the Constitutional Act on the Rights of National Minorities of the Republic of Croatia and the Act on the Election of National Minority Councils and Representatives, since 2003. National minorities in Croatia, including the Serb national minority, can elect councils in self-government units where they make up at least 1.5% of the total population, namely in local self-government units where there are over 200 inhabitants who belong to a national minority; and in regional self-government units where over 500 inhabitants belong to a national minority. Municipal national minority councils include 10, city councils 15, and county councils 25 representatives of each national minority. If the conditions for council elections are not met and there are at least 100 citizens who belong to a national minority living in the area, this minority has the right to elect its representative. Councils and representatives are elected to preserve and protect the rights of national minorities and to participate in public life and local self-governance.
After the recent elections, held in May 2023, Serb minority citizens had voted for the SNC’s slate in 17 counties, 51 cities and 77 municipalities. In this way, members of Serbian population put their trust in the SNC in 152 administrative districts in the Republic of Croatia, and elected 1.859 councillors from SNC’s ranks.
After each conducted elections, presidents of county councils and county representatives sign an Agreement on the Election of National Minority Councils and Representatives in the Republic of Croatia, and once the majority of all elected presidents sign the above-mentioned document, the operating mandate of the Coordination is extended. After the elections held in 2023, twenty county councillors and representatives joined the SNC Coordination.
As the body coordinating the work of councils, the SNC fosters their interconnection and programs and ensures the establishment of good administrative, civil-service, and financial practices in their work. It extends councils’ advisory, financial, material, and expert support, engages professional council secretaries and engages in their training and networking. It pays special attention to councils and representatives in unfavourable positions in terms of funding, programs, and infrastructure, as well as to the involvement of women and youth.
The SNC’s goal is to achieve the best possible organisation and coherence among minority councils and representatives who represent the most important link between people and their problems in the local community and Serb organisations. They are bodies and individuals that have been legitimately elected and therefore have the legal authority and obligation to deal with subjects of interest to Serb people.
Coordination contact
Jelena Nestorović
jelena.nestorovic@snv.hr,
M 099 37 98 656
