Polling stations for the presidential election opened in Croatia on Sunday, with just under 3.8 million citizens eligible to vote, the State Election Commission (SEC) said.
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The expression of will takes place from 7.00 to 19.00 at more than 6.5 thousand sites in Croatia and in 38 representative offices abroad. 3,762,224 people have the right to vote. The State Election Commission accredited 13.4 thousand domestic and foreign observers. The Election Commission will report turnout data twice during the day at 12.00 and 17.00, the first preliminary results are expected from 20.00.
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The main competitors for the post of President of Croatia are the current head of state Zoran Milanovic and the candidate from the ruling Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) Dragan Primorac, they were the first to submit signatures to the GEC in early December.
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Milanović actually heads the largest opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) of Croatia, although according to the constitution he left its ranks in 2020 after taking office.
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Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on November 5 called the country’s president “Putin’s poodle” because of his refusal to approve participation in the NATO Security and Training Assistance to Ukraine (NSATU) initiative. There was talk of sending two officers to Wiesbaden in Germany, which could be approved by two-thirds of parliament in 2025.
Milanovic publicly condemned the ICC and in October said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin were “accused of the International Criminal Court” for him. At the same time, he publicly complained about the ineffectiveness of Western sanctions against the Russian Federation and opposed the participation of the Croatian military in any capacity in the conflict.
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Despite his statements, the Croatian government provided $300 million in military and other assistance to Kyiv and continues to provide it.
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Milanovic’s main competitor, Primorac, the former minister of science, education and sports from 2003-2009, is also formally non-party, but he received the full support of the ruling HDZ, partner parties and personally Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.
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During the campaign, Primorac traveled to several Croatian regions, holding meetings with pensioners, state employees, Catholic believers, and veterans of conflicts of the 1990s. Among his promises are the fight against corruption, which the ruling HDZ is accused of, countering the departure of young people abroad and the fight against illegal migration. Despite relying on right-wing and clerical circles that traditionally support the ruling party, the HDZ candidate promised that if elected, there will be no “yours and ours.”
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The remaining four candidates and two female candidates, according to the results of opinion polls, have no chance of reaching the second round, expected on January 12. These are Miro Bull from the civil movement “MOST”, Ivana Kekin from “Mozhemo”, Branko Lozo, representing the right-wing “House and National Assembly – Domino”, independent candidates Tomislav Jonić, Marija Selak – Raspudić and Niko Tokic-Cartelo.
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In their programs, they focused on the problems of health, education, the fight against corruption and migration, which are not within the competence of the President of Croatia, who performs mainly representative functions during a five-year mandate.
