2000 Croatian parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections for the Chamber of Representatives of the Croatian Parliament were held on 3 January 2000. These were the first elections to be held after the expiration of a full 4-year term of the previous Chamber of Representatives.

2000 Croatian parliamentary election

3 January 2000
All 151 seats to Chamber of Representatives 76 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	70.5%
First party Second party   Leader Ivica Račan Zlatko Mateša (Prime Minister) Party SDP HDZ Last election 24 seats (SDP, HSLS, PGS, SBHS) 75 seats Seats won 71 / 151 46 / 151 Seat change 47 29 Popular vote 1,138,318 790,728 Percentage 38.7% 26.9%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Zlatko Tomčić Anto Đapić Party HSS HSP Last election 16 seats (HSS, IDS, HNS, ASH) 4 seats (HSP, HKDU) Seats won 25 / 151 5 / 151 Seat change 9 1 Popular vote 432,527 152,699 Percentage 14.7% 5.2%
Results of the election in each of the ten electoral districts of Croatia: the party with the majority of votes in each electoral unit. SDP-HSLS coalition: red; HDZ: blue
Prime Minister before election Zlatko Mateša HDZ Subsequent Prime Minister Ivica Račan SDP

Diagram of final election results

Results of the election based on the majority of votes in each municipality of Croatia
  SDP-HSLS coalition
  HDZ
  HSS-HNS coalition
  IDS-HSS-HNS coalition
  SDSS
  HSP-HKDU coalition
  HČSP

The ruling Croatian Democratic Union entered the elections weakened by the Zagreb Crisis, street protests and the series of corruption scandals that came to light in the previous parliamentary term. However, the most important factor was the deteriorating health of the party leader and Croatian president Franjo Tuđman, which sparked a succession struggle between various factions within the party.

On the other side, two major Croatian opposition parties - the Social Democratic Party of Croatia and Croatian Social Liberal Party - had their coalition formally agreed in 1998 and spent more than a year preparing for the elections. At first, they were to run together with the Croatian Peasant Party, Croatian People's Party, Istrian Democratic Assembly and Liberal Party, but as Tuđman's condition worsened leaders of the SDP and HSLS concluded that they could win elections even without those four other parties which later formed a separate bloc.

Like before all previous elections since the breakup of Yugoslavia, the electoral laws were altered in an attempt to improve the chances for the ruling party; this included a new voting system and redistricting. The First Past the Post constituencies introduced in the previous election were completely abandoned and Proportional Representation was implemented (with the exception of single representative ethnic minority seats). Croatia was divided into ten electoral districts, all drawn in order to maximise the support for HDZ. Each district had to elect 14 members, with candidates' lists having to win more than 5% of the votes in order to be represented in the Sabor.

Due to Tuđman's illness and death, the actual date of elections had been repeatedly postponed for constitutional reasons. There were speculations about elections being held during the Christmas holidays in order to have as many Croatian expatriates (traditional HDZ supporters) in the country, but the date of 3 January was chosen as the most suitable. As the day of the elections approached, its outcome became more certain. The campaign was brief and relatively uneventful with the HDZ being visibly weakened and demoralised by the death of its long-term leader. On the actual day of elections the turnout - the biggest since 1990 - indicated the Croatian people's desire to have their government changed.

Račan was appointed Prime Minister on 27 January 2000, by a decree of the Acting President of Croatia and Speaker of the outgoing assembly of Parliament, Vlatko Pavletić, and this decision was later confirmed by a parliamentary vote on 2 February 2000 in which 122 of 151 MPs voted in favor and 1 against the cabinet, while 1 MP abstained.[1] Račan led a coalition of SDP and HSLS, which together with a bloc of four other parties held two-thirds majority in Parliament, allowing them to amend the Constitution and transform Croatia from a semi-presidential system into an incomplete parliamentary system in November 2000 and abolish the upper chamber of Parliament, the Chamber of Counties, in March 2001. The constitutional changes of 2000 greatly limited the power of the president, but retained the direct election of that office.