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Opposition 'leads in Croatian presidential run-off'

January 11, 2015

Croatians have voted in a closely fought presidential run-off seen as a litmus test for parliamentary elections later this year. Exit poll results suggest a likely win for the conservative opposition.

https://p.dw.com/p/1EIgI
A man casts his vote at a polling booth during the presidential run-off election in Zagreb January 11, 2015. REUTERS/Antonio Bronic
Image: Reuters/Bronic

Exit poll results in a Croatian presidential run-off election on Sunday have shown Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic of the center-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) ahead of the incumbent liberal Social Democrat (SDP) Ivo Josipovic.

Grabar-Kitarovic was in the lead with 51.4 percent of the vote as compared to Josipovic's 48.6 percent, the exit poll showed.

If the exit poll findings are confirmed by official results, Grabar-Kitarovic will become the first female Croatian president.

Although the post of president is largely ceremonial in Croatia, the election is considered a barometer of voter sentiment ahead of parliamentary elections due at the end of the year.

A conservative victory at the election could also result in Croatia's shifting back to right-wing nationalism, a move that could endanger the country's relations with neighboring former Yugoslav republics, including Balkan wartime rival Serbia.

Widespread discontent

The SDP-led government under Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic has come under fire for its failure to revive Croatia's economy, and Josipovic has been criticized by Grabar-Kitarovic for doing nothing to influence its economic policies.

Croatia joined the European Union in 2013, but its economy remains the bloc's weakest, with unemployment at almost 20 percent and just 0.5 percent growth predicted for this year.

Economic pledges

Josipovic, a law professor and composer of classical music, received 38.5 percent in the first round of the election, just one percentage point ahead of Grabar-Kitarovic, who is a former foreign minister and an ex-assistant to the NATO secretary general.

The run-off was called because neither candidate received the over 50 percent of the vote needed to win outright in the first round of voting.

In his campaign, Josipovic pledged to initiate constitutional changes giving more power to regional authorities as a way of reviving the economy.

Grabar-Kitarovic said on Sunday she felt "very confident" of winning, because voters were seeking "a change." In the past, she has called Josipovic the "incapable and cold-hearted government's accomplice" in helping create economic hardship.

Presidential candidate of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic casts her vote at a polling station in Zagreb, Croatia on December 28, 2014. AFP PHOTO / STRINGER STR/AFP/Getty Images
Grabar-Kitarovic has accused Josipovic of being soft to SerbsImage: STR/AFP/Getty Images

Turnout at Sunday's election was at 48.23 percent by 5 p.m. local time (1600 UTC), already higher than the 47 percent registered in the first round two weeks ago. Some 3.8 million people were eligible to vote.

Initial official results were expected around 2100 UTC.

tj/sms (AP, dpa, AP)