The situation surrounding the upcoming local elections in Motovun is, well, chaotic. A few days before election lists are to be submitted to the relevant authorities, we still do not know how many lists there will be. That is, how many parties are vying for power. According to the Croatian law, independents can come up with such lists until the last day. Similarly, we still have no idea who will be running for mayor. With the exception of the candidate proposed by the Social Democrats, and supported by the Green Party – Green Alternative, no other candidate for mayor is known at this point in time.

To simplify things for the voters, Social Democrats and Greens will sign today a coalition agreement at a press conference in one of Motovun’s watering holes. The Green Party could not get more than one place at the municipal council, and the coalition agreement thus guarantees one place for the Greens. At the same time, this guarantees that surplus votes do not go to the leading party, Istrian Democratic Assembly, which has been in power for nineteen years already. According to the Croatian law, most of the surplus votes go to the leading party, which means that separate election lists for Social Democrats and Greens would most likely give away an entire place on the council to their common opponent.

By the beginning of next week we will know exactly where we are. And so will the voters. We will know how many lists we are facing, as well as how many candidates for mayor there are. The election campaign will then run through mid-May, when the elections are scheduled. This will be a funny period, no doubt. Both hopes and fears will be growing by the day. Many people here believe that they stand to gain or lose a great deal depending on which way the elections go. One hopes to get a plot of land for a new house, another fears that his son’s stipend will be revoked, and so on. In a community where few have much, all this adds to a lot. The only good thing is that there is less than a month till the election day.