Croatia heads to presidential run-off as Milanovic falls short


(MENAFN) Croatia’s current leader, Zoran Milanovic, backed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP), narrowly missed an outright victory in the first round of Sunday’s presidential elections, despite leading his nearest competitor by approximately 30 percentage points.

According to preliminary results from the State Electoral Commission (DIP), 99.67 percent of the votes have been tallied.

While early exit polls suggested Milanovic might surpass 50 percent, the provisional count shows he garnered 49.1 percent of the vote.

Milanovic will face Dragan Primorac, the ruling center-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) candidate and former education minister, who secured 19.4 percent, in a second-round election.

The SDP expressed mixed emotions, celebrating Milanovic’s lead but lamenting the narrow miss, while HDZ representatives admitted surprise at the large gap but stressed the upcoming run-off offers a clean slate.

If confirmed, the decisive contest between Milanovic and Primorac will take place on January 12.

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MENAFN

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