The Government has called early elections for the deputy pr…

The Government of the Republic of Croatia has called early elections for the deputy prefect of Sisačko-moslavačka County from among members of the Serbian national minority for Sunday, November 15, 2026. The decision was made at the Government session held on October 14, 2026, and published in the Official Gazette (Narodne novine) no. 117/2026 under number 1391, entering into force on October 15, 2026. On the same day, the State Election Commission of the Republic of Croatia published four mandatory instructions regarding the sequence of election activities, forms, and rules for appointing election bodies (items 1397–1400).

Legal Basis and Signatories

The decision was made based on Article 5 and Article 6, paragraph 1 of the Local Elections Act (“Official Gazette” no. 144/12, 121/16, 98/19, 42/20, 144/20, and 37/21), in connection with Article 41a, paragraph 6 of the Local and Regional Self-Government Act. It was signed by the Prime Minister mr. sc. Andrej Plenković, with the official class mark 022-03/26-04/448 and registry number 50301-04/12-26-4.

The mandatory instructions of the State Election Commission were adopted at the session held on October 14, 2026, based on Article 48 of the Local Elections Act, under class 012-03/26-01/40, and were signed by the President Mirta Matić. The instructions enter into force on October 15, 2026, and are also published on the website www.izbori.hr.

Deadlines for Candidacies and Publication of the Summary List

The deadlines for the conduct of the elections run from October 16, 2026, at 00:00 hours. Key deadlines according to Mandatory Instructions no. MLN I (item 1397) are:

candidacy proposals to the County Election Commission of Sisačko-moslavačka County – until October 29, 2026, by 24:00 hours;
publication of the summary list of legally proposed candidacies in local media, press, on the notice board, and the county website – until October 31, 2026, by 24:00 hours;
publication of polling stations with an indication of which voters vote at them – until October 30, 2026, by 24:00 hours;
election campaigning – from the publication of the summary list until November 13, 2026, by 24:00 hours;
election silence – from November 14, 2026, at 00:00 hours until November 15, 2026, at 19:00 hours.

The County Election Commission is obliged to submit the summary list to the State Election Commission for the publication of complete information on all candidacies, whereby such publication does not constitute an election activity in terms of the protection of electoral rights.

Appointment of Commissions and Polling Boards

Mandatory Instructions no. MLN III (item 1399) regulate the appointment of expanded compositions of election commissions, and no. MLN IV (item 1400) regulate the appointment of polling boards:

expanded compositions of election commissions are appointed no later than October 23, 2026, whereby the State Election Commission appoints the expanded composition of the County Election Commission, and the latter appoints the expanded compositions of the city and municipal commissions;
political parties submit members of the polling boards to the competent commissions by November 2, 2026, by 24:00 hours;
competent election commissions appoint polling boards no later than November 4, 2026, by 24:00 hours;
in the expanded composition, three members represent the majority parties and three represent the opposition parties; in the polling board, four members are determined by the majority party and four by the opposition parties.

Members of election commissions and polling boards must not be candidates in the elections they conduct. If parties cannot agree on the distribution, it is decided by lot.

Voting, forms, and protection of electoral rights

Voting takes place continuously on November 15, 2026, from 7:00 to 19:00 hours, and voters who are present at the polling station will be allowed to vote after 19:00 hours. Polling boards submit the minutes no later than 12 hours after the closing of the station, i.e., by November 16, 2026, by 7:00 hours, and the competent commissions determine the results at the polling stations by November 16, 2026, by 19:00 hours.

The candidacy process is carried out exclusively on the prescribed forms from the Mandatory Instructions number MLN II (item 1398):

OMLN-1 – proposal of a candidate for the election of the deputy prefect from among members of a national minority;
OMLN-2 – candidate’s statement on the acceptance of the candidacy;
OMLN-3 – notice of the opening of a special account for financing election campaign costs;
OMLN-5 – ballot paper; OMLN-8, OMLN-10, and OMLN-11 – minutes on the work of the polling board, the municipal/city and county election commissions;
OMLN-12 – ballot paper for a repeated election.

The protection of electoral rights is realized according to the provisions of Articles 127 – 133 of the Local Elections Act.

Significance for voters and candidates

Early elections concern exclusively voters registered in the area of Sisak-Moslavina County and candidates proposed by authorized proposers, and the mandate of the deputy prefect from among the Serbian national minority is filled in accordance with the legal obligation of representation of national minorities in the county government. For candidates, the most important deadline is October 29, 2026, after which it is no longer possible to submit a candidacy, while for voters, the key date remains November 15, 2026, when voting takes place from 7 to 19 hours. All forms and deadlines are published in the Narodne novine no. 117/2026 and on the website of the State Election Commission.

Source: Decision on calling early elections for the deputy prefect of Sisak-Moslavina County from among members of the Serbian national minority, class: 022-03/26-04/448, reg. no.: 50301-04/12-26-4, Official Gazette (Narodne novine) no. 117/2026, item 1391; Mandatory Instructions No. MLN I–MLN IV, class: 012-03/26-01/40, Official Gazette (Narodne novine) no. 117/2026, items 1397–1400.