Political situation in Croatia

Croatian incumbent president heads for another election victory

Croatian incumbent president Zoran Milanovic is heading for a convincing victory in Sunday's election, according to the first exit poll. Croatian media reports.

According to the poll, Milanovic will receive 51.48 percent of the vote. Challenger Dragan Primorac will only collect 19.29 percent.

Milanovic's victory was expected and is in line with opinion polls. He belongs to the Social Democratic opposition party but is sometimes called the "Croatian Trump" as he pursues populist and nationalist policies.

The presidential role is mainly ceremonial in Croatia, but Milanovic has opposed Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic several times during his current term.

Criticism of the president: "He is leading us east"

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković is very critical of President Zoran Milanović, who, according to opinion polls, looks set to continue gaining confidence after today's election. Plenković calls the president “pro-Russian” and instead wants the ruling party’s candidate Dragan Primorac to be elected.

– The difference between him and Milanović is quite simple. Milanović leads us east and Primorac leads us west, the prime minister says, according to the AP.

If neither candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote today, a new round of elections is expected in two weeks. The scenario is “likely”, writes AFP.

“Croatian Trump” looks set to remain as president

At 7:00 am, the polling stations opened in Croatia for the third time this year. The country’s residents are to elect a new president and there is much evidence that the current leader Zoran Milanović will remain in office.

58-year-old Milanović is sometimes called “Croatian Trump” because of the ultra-nationalist and populist policies he stands for, writes Politico. He is leading in opinion polls published before election day.

Milanović belongs to the opposition Social Democratic Party and his main challenger seems to be Dragan Primorac, who belongs to the ruling HNZ party.

The presidential role in the country is mainly ceremonial, but Milanović has opposed and been very critical of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković during his term in office.