MPs mustered the required super majority for passing a constitutional act which paves the way for the establishment of provinces in the entire country. Articles 121, 140 and 143 of the Constitution were changed in a 69:7 vote on Tuesday afternoon.
Upon presenting the law to MPs, Local Government and Regional Policy Minister Ivan Zagar said that the legislation forms the basis for drafting laws that would allow the devolution of power from the national to the regional level.
The transfer of tasks will have to result in real decentralisation, including financing and the necessary infrastructure for the provinces to carry out their tasks.
The new law amends Article 143 of the Constitution: at present municipalities have the power to decide on whether they want to join forces to create provinces; the new wording just says that provinces are established top-down by law.
The new Article 143 also says that the state devolves certain powers to the provinces, whereby it secures the necessary funding. Changes to Articles 121 and 140 eliminate the administrative and technical obstacles to the devolution of powers.
Before parliament actually declare the new law, eight days need to pass during which a group of 30 MPs could request a referendum on the changes. Pending no such initiative, the act is expected to be promulgated at an extraordinary session next week.
After the promulgation, the parliament will have to pass several bills to define the roles of new provinces and their financing. The size, seat and name of each new province will also have to be determined.
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