The current president of Croatia, Zoran Molanovic, was the candidate with the most votes in the first round of the presidential elections held this Sunday in Croatia with 49.12 percent of the votes, far ahead of Dragan Primorac, who achieved 19.38 percent, according to official data from the State Electoral Commission (CES) corresponding to 99.59 percent of the votes counted.
These results are, however, a setback for Milanovic, since the polls gave him even greater support than he finally obtained. The electoral legislation establishes that if no candidate obtains 50 percent of the votes, the two most voted must face each other in a first round. The second round will be held on January 12.
Milanovic, who was prime minister from 2011 to 2016, is counting on the support of the opposition Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SPD) to win a second term, while Primorac is backed by the conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, which currently leads the country’s government.
Six other candidates were running in the election, but none had a real chance of making it to the second round. The most prominent were the right-wing independent Marija Selak-Raspudic and the candidate of the left-wing green party Mozemo, Ivana Kekin. Both won 8 percent of the vote.
The Croatian presidency is not entirely a ceremonial post: his voice carries some weight in foreign policy and defense, and he acts as commander-in-chief of the army.
The current head of state is critical of Western intervention on behalf of Ukraine in its war with Russia, although he has also unequivocally condemned the invasion by Moscow’s forces.
The campaign has been marked by the corruption scandal that has cost the already ex-Minister of Health, Vili Beros, his job. Plenkovic dismissed him last November shortly after he was arrested in the middle of an investigation for alleged corruption that has also implicated officials and doctors.
Beros’ arrest took place in the framework of a raid on his home in Zagreb, the capital, as the Office for the Elimination of Corruption and Organized Crime of Croatia (USKOK) investigates a network of corruption that affects politicians and hospitals throughout the country.
