Croatia's outgoing president, Zoran Milanovic, supported by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and fierce critic of the ruling conservatives, is in position to win the presidential election in the first round, according to an exit poll published on Sunday December 29, at the close of polling stations.
According to this opinion survey carried out by the Ispos institute and broadcast by national television (HRT), Mr. Milanovic would come well ahead of the first round of voting with 51.48% of the votes, ahead of the candidate of the conservatives in power ( HDZ), Dragan Primorac, who would win 19.29% of the votes.
Official results will be released later this evening. If they confirm it, this victory in the first round for Mr. Milanovic would be a surprise. Certainly, the outgoing president was favored by all the polls, but they anticipated his victory in the second round. The last one, dating from Friday, credited him with 37% of voting intentions in the first round.
Since Croatia proclaimed its independence in 1991, only Franjo Tudjman, considered the father of independence, has managed to win the presidential election in the first round, in 1992 and 1997.
Abstention et inflation
Croats voted much less on Sunday than in the legislative elections in April. Around 4:30 p.m., two and a half hours before the polling stations closed, participation was only 36%, compared to almost 39% at the same time in 2019, and compared to 50.6% during the last legislative elections. . This low participation can also be explained by the date of the poll, between Christmas and New Year, when many people are on vacation.
The vote took place against a backdrop of high inflation, widespread corruption and a labor shortage.
In Croatia, the president is the head of the armed forces and is the representative on the international scene of this country of 3.8 million inhabitants, member of the European Union (EU) and NATO. Although he has few powers, he is seen by the Croats as guarantor of the balance of powers.
A former SDP leader and prime minister, Mr. Milanovic is a sharp-spoken politician who moved from promising a Croatia “progressive, modern and open”at the start of his current mandate, to populist rhetoric. He denounced Russian aggression against Ukraine, while criticizing the military aid provided by the West to kyiv. Croatia still provided Ukraine with aid, particularly military aid, to the tune of 300 million euros.
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This policy led to him being described by the Conservative Prime Minister as “pro-Russian” Who “destroys Croatia’s credibility with NATO and the EU”. Zoran Milanovic says he wants to prevent Croatia from being “dragged into war” a Ukraine. “As long as I am president, no Croatian soldier will fight other people’s wars”he said.
