Croatian President and presidential candidate Zoran Milanovic casts his vote at a polling station during presidential elections in Zagreb, Croatia, on December 29, 2024.
Antonio Bronic | Reuters
Exit polls put Croatian President Zoran Milanovic on course for a landslide victory that would give him a second term in the largely ceremonial post.
Milanovic of the opposition Social Democrats is expected to win Sunday’s presidential election with 77.86 percent of the vote, according to an exit poll for state-run HRT television.
Exit polls showed Dragan Primorac of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) winning 22.14% of the vote.
Some 3.8 million people in the NATO and EU member state voted in Sunday’s second round of voting. The state electoral commission said turnout was 34.77% as of 4.30pm (1730 GMT).
After the exit polls were released, Milanovic wrote “Thank you” on his Facebook profile.
Earlier in the day, after voting in the capital Zagreb, Milanovic told reporters: “Over the past five years, I have done my job with the utmost sincerity and I hope people see that. .
The Croatian head of state cannot veto laws but has a say in foreign policy, defense and security matters.
Populist ex-premier Milanovic had confrontations with PM during his tenure Andrei Plenkovic The two exchanged frequent insults over foreign affairs and public policy.
