Zoran Milanovic, a NATO critic, is on track to win the run-off vote after securing 49 percent votes in round one.Croatians are voting in a presidential run-off election, with incumbent Zoran Milanovic expected to win a second term in office in what would be a blow to the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, which backs his rival.
Polling stations opened on Sunday at 7am local time (06:00 GMT) and would close at about 7pm (18:00 GMT), with exit polls expected minutes later.
Milanovic, an outspoken critic of Western military support for Ukraine against Russia, won 49.1 percent of the vote during the contest’s first round two weeks ago – narrowly missing an outright victory.
The 58-year-old leader entered the contest with surging momentum as he faced off against Dragan Primorac, who managed to garner 19.35 percent of the votes. Primorac, 59, is backed by the HDZ party, which has governed the former Yugoslav republic since declaring independence in 1991.
The election comes as the European Union and NATO member country of 3.8 million people struggles with biting inflation, corruption scandals and a labour shortage.
A person walks into a polling station during the second round of the presidential election in Zagreb [Borut Zivulovic/Reuters]
Divisive politics
Milanovic, a former left-wing prime minister, took over the presidency in 2020 with the backing of the main opposition Social Democrats (SDP) party. Advertisement
Milanovic condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but has also criticised the West’s military support for Kyiv. His main rival has dubbed him “a pro-Russian puppet”.
He is very …
