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Croatian lawmakers vote to dissolve parliament, early vote set for Sept.

Monday, 20 June 2016 5:06 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 20 June 2016 5:07 PM ]

This photo taken on March 18, 2016 shows Croatian Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic arriving for a European Union summit in Brussels. (AFP photo)

Croatian lawmakers have voted to dissolve the country’s parliament, paving the way for early elections in September after Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic failed to win a vote of confidence last week.

On Monday, a total of 137 deputies in the 151-seat assembly backed the dissolution of Croatia’s parliament to come into force on July 15, following which new elections will be held within 60 days in early September.

Oreskovic’s government fell on Thursday after a parliamentary committee found Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Karamarko guilty of having a conflict of interest.

The committee accused Karamarko of trying to boost his own political power, instead of dealing with the country’s economic problems; accusations he firmly dismissed.

The leader of the Croatian Democratic Union, Tomislav Karamarko (C), and supporters celebrate after the announcement of the initial results of general elections, in the capital, Zagreb, November 8, 2015. (AFP photo)

The ruling right-wing Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), which brought Oreskovic to power in January but later turned against him, wanted to form a new government with a new prime minister. Opposition parties, however, collected enough votes in the parliament for the dissolution and the holding of early elections.

Croatia is gripped by an economic downturn for six years. It is also struggling with a wave of refugees.

It joined the European Union (EU) in 2013 after fighting a war for independence from Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

The Eastern European country is among the poorest-performing economies of the 28-member bloc, with its public debt standing at nearly 90 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

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