Croatia to scrap ‘blue certificates’ in voter register overhaul

(Photo: HINA/ Daniel KASAP/ Pool/Archive/Free use)

ZAGREB, 27 July 2026 (Croatia Week) – Croatia is preparing a major overhaul of its voter register system, including the abolition of so-called ‘blue certificates’ for voters with residence in the country.

The changes were presented by Minister of Justice, Administration and Digital Transformation Damir Habijan, who outlined a draft proposal for a new Voter Register Act, a new Code of Ethics for officials and employees in local and regional government, and two new regulations concerning international judicial cooperation.

‘Blue certificates’ to be abolished

The proposed new Voter Register Act aims to modernise the existing system and bring it into line with current requirements for interoperability and digital administration.

According to Habijan, the current application no longer supports the simultaneous management of different elections and limits further digitalisation of the electoral process.

The new voter register application is planned to be aligned with Croatia’s State Information Infrastructure Act and use the State Government Bus (GSB) to exchange data in real time.

This is expected to reduce the amount of manual administrative work, with most registrations and changes to voter data processed automatically.

One of the key changes is the removal of the distinction between the terms voter register and electoral roll. The difference has primarily concerned voters without a valid identity card and has led to the issuing of so-called blue certificates.

The Ministry estimates that issuing one certificate takes an official around seven minutes.

At the 2024 parliamentary elections, 7,642 such certificates were issued, representing almost 900 hours of administrative work in a single day.

Under the proposed changes, blue certificates would no longer be required for voters with a registered residence in Croatia.

For Croatian citizens without residence in the country, certificates would continue to be issued at diplomatic and consular missions on election day to facilitate the exercise of their voting rights.

The new legislation would also bring the voter register into line with the abolition of the national identification number system, introduce the deactivation of registrations and redefine the relevant administrative responsibilities.

Further savings are expected through the full digitalisation of applications submitted via the e-Citizens system.

The system is also intended to provide citizens with greater control over their personal data through access rights, while selected open data would be made available through a specialised portal.

New ethical standards for local government

The Government also presented a new Code of Ethics for officials and employees in local and regional government.

Minister Damir Habijan (Photo: Ministry of Justice, Administration and Digital Transformation)

The code is intended to establish more consistent ethical standards and principles of conduct across state and local government.

Its implementation would be monitored by ethics commissioners appointed by the executive bodies of local government units. Two or more local government units would also be able to appoint a joint ethics commissioner.

At county level and in the City of Zagreb, five-member County Ethics Committees would be established, with members appointed for four-year terms.

The independent bodies would deal with complaints concerning the work of ethics commissioners and heads of administrative departments, maintain public records and submit annual reports.

The Ministry of Justice, Administration and Digital Transformation would provide advisory support and organise training in cooperation with the State School for Public Administration.

New rules for European judicial cooperation

Two new regulations concerning criminal justice cooperation with the European Union were also presented.

One sets out the number and territorial jurisdiction of contact points for the European Judicial Network in criminal matters, as well as the appointment of a national correspondent and a technical correspondent.

The second regulation covers the appointment and responsibilities of Croatia’s national member at Eurojust, as well as their deputy and assistant.

It also regulates the appointment of members of Croatia’s national coordination system for cooperation with Eurojust.

The proposed measures form part of a broader effort to modernise public administration, reduce administrative procedures and expand the use of digital systems in Croatia.