Croatia's President Milanovic sails to victory over ruling party candidate in runoff vote

Croatia's opposition-backed President Zoran Milanovic, a critic of the European Union and NATO, overwhelmingly won re-election for another five-year term on Sunday, defeating a candidate from the ruling conservative party in a runoff vote.

Croatia's populist President Zoran Milanovic was re-elected in a landslide, defeating his conservative rival in Sunday's run-off, official results showed.

Milanovic took more than 74 percent of the vote and Dragan Primorac, backed by the centre-right HDZ party that governs Croatia, almost 26 percent, with nearly all the votes counted.

It was the highest score achieved by a presidential candidate since the former Yugoslav republic's independence in 1991.

ADVERTISEMENT

While the role of the president is largely ceremonial in Croatia, Milanovic's wide victory is the latest setback for the HDZ and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic – Milanovic's political arch-rival – after a high-profile corruption affair in November.

"Croatia, thank you!", Milanovic told his supporters who gathered at a Zagreb art and music club to celebrate his success.

"I see this victory as a recognition of my work in the last five years and a plebiscite message from Croatian people to those who should hear it", he said in a reference to the HDZ-led government.

The outspoken Milanovic, backed by the left-wing opposition, won more than 49 percent of the vote in the contest's first round two weeks ago – narrowly missing an outright victory.

Turnout Sunday was nearly 44 percent, slightly lower than in the first round, the electoral commission said.

ADVERTISEMENT

Croatia has been mainly governed by the HDZ since independence.


Read more on FRANCE 24 English

Read also:
Croatians head to the polls as pundits foresee return of populist president
Croatian President Zoran Milanovic looks set for reelection but fails to avoid run-off