Today, Croatians return to the polls for the second round of the presidential elections. In the first round, the incumbent President Zoran Milanovic narrowly missed the required majority.
After the polling stations closed, Milanovic appeared to have secured the victory. He ultimately finished with 49.2% of the votes. His challenger, Dragan Primorac of the right-conservative HDZ party, secured 19.43%. Marija Selak Raspudic and Ivana Kekin were eliminated, each with 9% of the votes.
Milanovic did not achieve a first-round victory. To date, only Franjo Tudjman, considered the father of Croatian independence, has managed this feat.
Milanovic was first elected president in 2020. He previously served as the Prime Minister of Croatia. The outgoing president has the support of the Social Democratic Party but has adopted an increasingly populist right-wing stance.
Croatia's outgoing President and SDP candidate Zoran Milanovic (L) and presidential candidate of HDZ Dragan Primorac (R) take part in a TV Debate on Croatian National Television (HRT) in Zagreb, on January 7, 2025. Credit: Belga / AFP
He argued that the EU should remain neutral in the Ukraine-Russia conflict and frequently criticised the conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic (HDZ).
The runoff will be contested between Milanovic and Primorac. Following the first round’s results, Prime Minister Plenkovic launched an attack, focusing on Milanovic’s pro-Russian stance. In response, Milanovic highlighted the HDZ party’s numerous scandals.
Voter turnout in the first round was low, with just 46% of the electorate participating, compared to 62% in the parliamentary elections held in April.
