Home > 1.2.3 Equality and national minorities > Report on Electoral Rules and Affirmative Action for National Minorities´Participation in Decision-Making Process in European Countries
 
 
 
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Paragraph 35
 

According to the above mentioned legislation if at least one member of a national minority, which participates in the population of the local self-government unit with more than 5 % and less than 15 %, is not elected in the representative body of the self-government unit on the basis of universal suffrage, the number of members of the representative body of the self-government unit shall be increased by one member. If a national minority which accounts for at least 15% of the population of a local self–government unit is not represented by a number of members proportional to its share in the population of the local self-government unit, the number of members of the representative body of the self-government unit shall be increased up to the number that is necessary to exercise the representation. Those members of a certain minority, who were not elected, according to the order of proportional success of each slate in the elections, shall be considered elected. The legislator prescribes that in situations when even by adopting such an approach the number of national minority representatives will not be achieved, by-elections shall be called in the self-government unit in compliance with the Constitutional Act and law regulating the election of members of representative bodies of local and regional self-government units. To achieve such results the proportional model will be used. The official census results shall be relevant to the determination of the number of members of a national minority for the implementation of this mechanism.