In Croatia, partial results from the state election commission have confirmed the re-election of incumbent President Zoran Milanović. After counting the votes in almost 75 percent of the polling stations, the Social Democrat is in the lead with about 73.7 percent. His conservative challenger Dragan Primorac has 26.3 percent.
The post-election surveys published immediately after the polls closed already predicted a landslide victory for the favored incumbent party with almost 78 percent, while the candidate of the ruling HDZ party obtained around 22 percent.
“Thank you”
Milanović’s campaign staff cheered when the exit polls were published. In an initial response, Milanović wrote on Facebook: “Thank you.” The incumbent party had already won the first round two weeks ago with 49.1 percent of the votes.
Expected victory
A clear victory for Milanović was expected, but his high result was still surprising. To date, no Croatian president has been elected with more than 70 percent. The election campaign was a piece of cake for him, political experts said, referring to the fact that the incumbent president was quite reserved in the election campaign. “Milanović didn’t even take off his dressing gown,” Mate Mijić told private broadcaster RTL.
Big blow for Premier
The triumph of the incumbent president is seen as a major blow to conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and his HDZ. “This is a downfall for the HDZ, the Milanović tsunami has overwhelmed them,” PR expert Krešimir Macan told RTL about the exit poll results.
Milanovic was supported by the opposition Social Democrats and several smaller left-wing and liberal opposition parties.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
