2013 Croatian constitutional referendum
A constitutional referendum was held in Croatia on 1 December 2013. The proposed amendment to the constitution would define marriage as being a union between a man and a woman, which would create a constitutional prohibition against same-sex marriage. 37.9% of eligible voters voted. After processing all of the ballots, the State Election Commission announced that 65.87% voted yes, 33.51% no and 0.57% of ballots were disregarded as invalid. The referendum was called after a conservative organization U ime obitelji (“On Behalf of the Family”) gathered more than 700,000 signatures in May 2013 demanding a referendum on the subject. The initiative was supported by conservative political parties, the Catholic Church as well as by several other faith groups. The ruling left-wing coalition opposed the amendment along with numerous human rights organizations. Political background A petition in favor of the change was organized by a Catholic citizens' group 'On Behalf of the Family' (U ime obitelji) and collected over 700,000 signatures by May 2013. The initiative was a reaction to the government's proposal to legalize same-sex partnership. The referendum was approved following a vote in the Sabor on 8 November in which 104 of the 151 MPs voted in favor of