ZAGREB, 7 July (Hina) - Fewer women were elected to county assemblies and the Zagreb City Assembly in the recent local elections than in 2021, but the number of female mayors, municipal heads and county prefects has increased.
Out of 781 elected assembly members, 223 are women, which is a 1.71% decrease compared to four years ago, according to an analysis by the State Electoral Commission.
The highest proportion of women (38.30%) was elected to the Zagreb City Assembly, while the lowest (12.90%) was in the Požega-Slavonia County Assembly. The Zagreb City Assembly has 47 seats, 18 of which are held by women, while the Požega-Slavonia Assembly has 31 seats, with only four women elected.
The Krapina-Zagorje County Assembly also has strong female representation, with 14 women and 23 men.
In five county assemblies, women hold roughly one-third of seats: Karlovac (12 of 37), Virovitica-Podravina (10 of 31), Brod-Posavina (12 of 37), Šibenik-Knin (10 of 31), and Istria (12 of 37).
In six county assemblies, women make up 29.73% of members: Sisak-Moslavina, Vukovar-Srijem, Koprivnica-Križevci, Međimurje (11 out of 37 seats in each), Lika-Senj (8 out of 27), and Primorje-Gorski Kotar (12 out of 41).
In the Bjelovar-Bilogora County Assembly, which has 37 seats, ten are women. In the Osijek-Baranja and Zagreb County Assemblies, 11 women were elected to each (out of 41 seats).
In the Varaždin County Assembly, women make up nine out of 37 members.
Women make up 20% of councillors in the assemblies of Split-Dalmatia County (10 of 47), Dubrovnik-Neretva County, and Zadar County (eight of 37 in both).
In 2021, the highest female representation was in Istria (46.34%) and Virovitica-Podravina (41.94%) counties.
Notably, the Požega-Slavonia Assembly, which now has only four female members, had ten women elected in 2021.
This year, three women were elected as county prefects, one more than in 2021: Martina Furdek-Hajdin, Antonija Jozić, and Nataša Tramišak, all from the HDZ party.
18 more female mayors and municipal heads than in 2021
Of Croatia’s 555 towns and municipalities, 79 are now headed by women, which is 18 more than in 2021.
With the exception of Rijeka and Čakovec, women were mostly elected to lead smaller municipalities and towns. In Lika-Senj and Virovitica-Podravina counties, no women were elected as mayors or municipal heads.
In Požega-Slavonia, Brod-Posavina, and Zadar counties (which have ten, 28, and 34 local units respectively), only one woman was elected in each: Marija Šarić (HDZ), mayor of Pleternica, Aleksandra Zdunić (DM NL), and Josipa Gulan (HDZ), heads of Gornji Bogićevci and Galovac municipalities.
One mayor and one municipal head were elected in both Bjelovar-Bilogora and Šibenik-Knin counties (with 23 and 20 local units, respectively): Valentina Čanađija (HSLS/HSS), mayor of Čazma, Jasna Mikles Horvat (HDZ), Anita Živković (HDZ), and Sanja Bjelobrk (independent), heads of Zrinski Topolovac, Rogoznica, and Civljane municipalities.
In Split-Dalmatia County, which has 55 towns and municipalities, women head only three island municipalities: Katarina Marčić (independent) - Bol, Marija Marjan (SDP) - Jelsa, and Ivana Marković (SDP) - Supetar.
Međimurje and Varaždin counties each elected one female mayor and two municipal heads: Dragica Ratković (HDZ) - mayor of Varaždinske Toplice, Sanja Kočet and Vera Vitković (independents) - Heads of Donja Voća and Trnovec Bartolovečki municipalities, Ljerka Cividini (NPS) - Mayor of Čakovec, Bojana Petrić and Đurđica Slamek (both NPS) - municipal heads of Donji Vidovec and Sveta Marija.
In other counties, the number of women in executive positions ranges from four (e.g., Dubrovnik-Neretva, Vukovar-Srijem, Karlovac, Koprivnica-Križevci counties) to nine, which is the case in Krapina-Zagorje and Primorje-Gorski Kotar counties.
