Croatians have voted to define marriage as being between a man and a woman in a referendum at the weekend by a margin of almost two-to-one.

Just over 65pc said “yes” to the referendum question: “Do you agree that marriage is matrimony between a man and a woman?”  

The result, which also received support from 104 out of 151 parliamentarians, means that the country’s constitution must be amended to define marriage as being exclusively between a man and a woman.  

The grassroots group “In the Name of the Family,” which brought forward the referendum question with a petition of over 750,000 signatures, were strongly opposed in their efforts by Croatia’s recently elected Socialist government.

In the Name of the Family told Deutsche Welle, “We want to show clearly that the majority of people in Croatia is convinced that marriage is only a union between a man and a woman.” The referendum marks the first time a plebiscite has been held in the country since it gained independence in 1991.  

The group’s leader, Zelja Markic, said that “all the rights pertaining to marriage can only be part of a union between a woman and a man.” The initiative received support from the Croatian Democratic Union and the Catholic Church as well as from Orthodox, Protestant, Muslim, and Jewish groups.

Although the group had collected signatures from about 20 percent of the country’s electorate in a nation of about 4.3 million, the government tried to change the rules, claiming the electorate is larger than the official numbers.  

The Referendum Act requires that petitioners secure the signatures of 10 percent of the electorate, about 450,000 signatures.  

Later Deputy Prime Minister Stazi? and Vesna Pusi?, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, claimed that a referendum does not have binding, only consultative powers, despite the wording of the Constitution, which says a referendum is binding.  

Croatian President Ivo Josipovic told media he planned to vote No, saying, “We don’t need this kind of a referendum.” “Defining marriage between a man and a woman doesn’t belong to the constitution. A nation is judged by its attitude toward minorities,” he said.  

But the rights-watch group, European Dignity Watch, (EDW) said the referendum is “a clear and simple sign of the democratic process” at work.  

“All the more impressive given the intense pressure that the media and government officials, including the Prime Minister and Education Minister, put on organizers of the referendum and their allies over the past few weeks,” said EDW’s director Sophia Kuby.  

A number of gay rights groups, including the International Gay and Lesbian Association (ILGA), have condemned the vote.

ILGA Europe lamented the use of “democratic tools” to stop “gay marriage”.  

“We are seriously concerned by the fact that opponents to equality for all are using democratic tools to impose majority views on the rights of minority groups,” the group said in a statement. “We believe human rights and issues concerning minority groups cannot and should not be subjected to the popular vote in the first place.”