Polls show election victory for Croatia's incumbent president

Croatia's incumbent president Zoran Milanovic wins the election of the head of state with 77.86% of the vote, preliminary results of the exit poll reported on January 12 by Croatian Radio and Television.

His closest rival Dragan Primorac from the ruling Croatian Democratic Commonwealth (HDZ) party gained only 22.14% of support.

The second round of voting took place from 07:00 (09:00 Moscow time) to 19:00 (21:00 Moscow time). To organize the elections, 6.7 thousand polling stations were opened on the territory of Croatia and 105 polling stations in 38 foreign countries.

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In the first round of elections held on December 29, 2024, Milanovic received 49.09% of votes, Primorac - 19.35%. The voter turnout was 46.03%. Milanović actually leads the largest opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Croatia, although he officially left its ranks in 2020 after assuming the presidency, according to the country's constitution.