Croatia presidential elections, outgoing Milanović in the lead but goes to the ballot

Brussels – The first round of the presidential elections in Croatia, held yesterday (Dec. 29), confirmed to the outgoing head of state, Zoran Milanović, the clear lead attributed to him by eve polls, but did not hand him victory. The populist centre-left leader will have to challenge the ruling centre-right candidate, Dragan Primorac, in the runoff set for Jan. 12.

Data from the National Election Commission shows that outgoing President of the Republic Zoran Milanović received 49.09 per cent of the vote in Sunday’s first round, more than twice as much as his opponent Dragan Primorac, who received 19.35 per cent.

 Pre-election polls had predicted such a result.

The incumbent head of state was first elected in 2020 after serving as prime minister from 2011 to 2016, leading the Croatian Social Democratic Party (SDP). Because of his critical positions on the European Union and NATO (and military aid to Ukraine), as well as his populist style of political action and communication, he has earned the nickname “Croatian Trump.” Celebrating the results, the 58-year-old said he wants to promote “a Croatia that takes care of its own interests.”

Having failed to achieve an absolute majority in the first round, Milanović—who remains the most popular politician in the Balkan country—will have to contend in the second round against Primorac, the candidate of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), the centre-right party led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković who has ruled since 2016 and who, since this spring, is supported by the ultranationalists of the Movement for the Homeland (DP). The ballot is scheduled for January 12. Croatians have already voted twice this year: in April for early legislative and in June for the European elections.

The results of yesterday’s consultation thus confirm the split at the top of Croatia: the presidency could remain firmly in the hands of Milanović. Even if it is a ceremonial role, it could create quite a few problems for Plenković, in his third term at the head of the executive and considered the chief rival of the head of state, whom he has already branded as pro-Russian and defined “the cancer of Croatian politics.”

Commenting on the outcome of the first round, the premier declared: “We don’t want to be dragged towards Russia” after focusing the election campaign on Zagreb’s European positioning. On the other hand, the HDZ has been embroiled in recent years in a series of corruption scandals, leading to the resignation or dismissal of over thirty ministers, most recently the health care minister Vili Beroš, who was jailed last November.