ELECTIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE BODY OF SELF-GOVERNMENT UNITS ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF TOVARNIK

Kada je sredinom 19. stoljeća započela preobrazba feudalnog društva u suvremeno građansko društvo, započeo je i razvoj izbornog zakonodavstva na području Republike Hrvatske. Godine 1910. donesen je prvi izborni zakon koji je uređivao izborni postupak, a ondašnje biračko pravo djelilo se na aktivno i na pasivno. Aktivno biračko pravo imali su muškarci s navršene 24 godine koji su plaćali porez, a pasivno biračko pravo imali su muškarci s navršenih 30 godina koji su znali čitati i pisati. Tek nakon Drugog svjetskog rata Hrvatska je priznala biračko pravo i muškarcima i ženama s navršenih 18 godina života. Danas hrvatski državljani s navršenih 18 godina života stječu opće i jednako biračko pravo na parlamentarnim, predsjedničkim i lokalnim izborima te u postupku odlučivanja na državnom referendumu, ali i na izborima za Europski parlament. Od proglašavanja neovisnosti Republike Hrvatske i provedbe prvih višestranačkih izbora izmijenjeni su brojni zakoni i drugi akti koji se odnose na izborni postupak, a Hrvatska ostaje jedna od rijetkih europskih zemalja koja je prilikom provođenja izbora primijenila dva osnovna tipa izbornih sustava i njihovu kombinaciju. Upravo zbog čestih reformi unutar izbornog sustava, te neusklađenosti i manjkavosti na području izbornog zakonodavstva javila se potreba za izradom jedinstvenog propisa koji će unificirati područje lokalnih izbora, stoga se od 2013. godine lokalni izbori provode na temelju odredbi aktualnog Zakona o lokalnim izborima. Prema članku 88. ovoga Zakona izvršna tijela jedinica biraju se većinskim izbornim sustavom u pojedinoj izbornoj jedinici. Ukoliko osoba obnaša neku od pozicija koje Zakon svrstava u nespojivu dužnost, a nastoji prihvatiti izvršnu poziciju koju je dobila po proglašenju rezultata lokalnih izbora, dužna je u roku od 8 dana podnijeti ostavku s takve dužnosti. Općinski naĉelnik, gradonačelnik i župan te njihovi zamjenici biraju se većinom glasova svih birača koji su glasovali, što znači da će izabran biti kandidat koji na izborima ostvario više od 50% glasova birača u prvome krugu. Ako niti jedan kandidat ne dobije potrebnu većinu glasova u prvom krugu, drugome krugu pristupaju dva kandidata s najvećim brojem glasova. Mandat općinskih načelnika, gradonačelnika i župana te njihovih zamjenika prestaje istekom mandata ili po sili zakona, a može prestati i prije isteka mandata sukladno odredbama zakona.When the transformation of feudal society into a modern civil society began in the middle of the 19th century, the development of electoral legislation in the territory of the Republic of Croatia also began. In 1910, the first election law regulating the election procedure was passed, and the right to vote at that time was divided into active and passive. Men over the age of 24 who paid taxes had the active right to vote, and men over the age of 30 who could read and write had the passive right to vote. Only after the Second World War did Croatia recognize the right to vote for both men and women over the age of 18. Today, Croatian citizens from the age of 18 acquire the general and equal right to vote in parliamentary, presidential and local elections, as well as in the decision-making process in the national referendum, as well as in the elections for the European Parliament. Since the declaration of Croatia's independence and the holding of the first multi-party elections, numerous laws and other acts related to the electoral procedure have been amended, and Croatia remains one of the few European countries that applied two basic types of electoral systems and their combination when conducting elections. Precisely because of frequent reforms within the electoral system, as well as inconsistencies and shortcomings in the field of electoral legislation, there was a need to develop a single regulation that will unify the area of local elections, therefore, since 2013, local elections have been conducted based on the provisions of the current Act on Local Elections. According to Article 88 of this Act, the executive bodies of the units are elected by the majority electoral system in each electoral unit. If a person holds one of the positions that the Law classifies as an incompatible duty, and tries to accept the executive position he received after the announcement of the results of the local elections, he must resign from such position within 8 days. The head of the municipality, the mayor and the prefect and their deputies are elected by the majority of votes of all the voters who voted, which means that the candidate who won more than 50% of the votes in the first round will be elected. If no candidate receives the required majority of votes in the first round, the two candidates with the highest number of votes go to the second round. The mandate of municipal heads, mayors and prefects and their deputies ends with the expiration of the mandate or by force of law, and may end before the expiration of the mandate in accordance with the provisions of the law