Croatian President Zoran Milanovic has labelled the judges of the Constitutional Court a threat to Croatian democracy after the court ruled that, according to the Constitution, he is not allowed to stand in parliamentary election or take part in election campaigns as long as he is president of the republic.

“Unscrupulous bums, rodents in the shadows, gangsters, incoherent, illiterate” – these are the words Milanovic used to describe the judges of the Constitutional Court.

“Who made the decision that kills democracy, bans speech and declares the simple attempt to participate in parliamentary election a destabilisation of the Constitution?” he asked, adding: “This is a threat to Croatian democracy.”

“They did not cancel the election because of the disproportionality of the constituencies, but if the President of the Republic wants to run, they threaten him,” Milanovic said, emphasising that the constitutional judges are anonymous but have enormous power.

He denied having been in contact with judge Ingrid Anticevic, who was one of the two judges who voted against the decision of the majority of judges.

Milanovic said he would not take part in the opposition rally planned for 23 March and reiterated that he would not resign before the election.

Milanovic asks Covic why he is interfering in the elections

He asked the leader of the Bosnian-Croatian HDZ party, Dragan Covic, who had announced a day off due to the election in Croatia, why he was interfering in the Croatian election.

Croatian citizens living abroad will cast their votes on 16 and 17 April.

In the last parliamentary election four years ago, voting abroad took place in 42 countries in 112 polling stations, mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina (45) and Germany (11). Voting abroad takes place on two days in cities where Croatia has diplomatic or consular representations.

Almost 185,000 Croatian citizens residing abroad were eligible to vote in the 2020 parliamentary elections. Croats living in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the diaspora are entitled to three seats in the 151-seat parliament.