Croatia votes in parliamentary elections, president leads campaign against prime minister in bitter contest

Croatians voted in the parliamentary elections on Wednesday that saw the country’s president mounting a challenge against the incumbent prime minister seeking reelection.

For months before the elections, Croatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) seemed set for an easy victory, but that changed mid-March when President Zoran Milanovic announced his candidacy.

Milanovic has been a very popular politician in Croatia but his position of the country’s president was largely ceremonial. Following his announcement, the Croatian Constitutional Court ruled that he could not contest the parliamentary elections while still being the country’s president. After the court’s ruling, Milanovic was no longer on the ballot but he continued to campaign against Plenkovic and his party HDZ.

Surveys conducted before the voting showed that HDZ would emerge as the single-largest party but would fall short of the majority-mark in the 151-seat parliament, according to Al Jazeera.

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Through the campaign, the two leaders ran bitter campaigns. While Plenkovic lambasted Milanovic for standing against the European Union’s (EU) support of Ukraine against invading Russia, Milanovic has blasted the ruling party over corruption. The Al Jazeera report noted that he has accused Plenkovic and the HDZ of “massive theft” of state funds.

The report noted that several ministers from HDZ have stepped down amid corruption allegations. One acting minister was also arrested.

On his part, Plenkovic has also called Milanovic “coward” for not resigning as the president and contesting the elections.

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Before Milanovic announced his candidacy, the Croatian elections were considered decided, according to Kresimir Macan, a political analyst and consultant.

“It was obvious that the ruling party, the HDZ, would be in a position to make a new governing coalition quite easily. But then Milanovic started a crusade against corruption and everything he says [the current] Prime Minister, Andrej Plenkovic, stands for. People may not approve of Milanovic as president, but they like the way he talks,” said Macan to BBC News.

The BBC report noted that the entry of Milanovic changed the polls altogether. The huge gap between the SDP and HDZ narrowed significantly. Now, as surveys suggest a hung parliament, smaller parties are looking forward to play the role of the kingmaker in the formation of the new government by aligning with either of the two main parties.

The voting is scheduled to conclude at 5 pm local time (10:30 pm India time). Exit polls are expected soon after the voting closes and formal results are expected in the coming days.