Incumbent Croatian President Stjepan Mesic and the candidate of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, Deputy Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, will face each other in a second round of presidential elections scheduled for 16 January after none of the 13 candidates managed to win over 50% of the vote for an outright victory in Sunday’s presidential elections.
Second Round Scheduled for Croatian Presidential Elections
Incumbent Croatian President Stjepan Mesic and the candidate of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, Deputy Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, will face each other in a second round of presidential elections scheduled for 16 January after none of the 13 candidates managed to win over 50% of the vote for an outright victory in Sunday’s presidential elections.
According to preliminary results released by the State Election Commission, Mesic won 48.92% of the vote while Kosor gained 20.30%. The surprise of the election was independent candidate Boris Miksic who came in third with 17.79%. All other candidates won under three per cent of the vote. Voter turnout was 50.95%.
As stated in the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, the president is elected by a majority vote in a direct election. If no candidate wins a majority, then a second round of elections is held after 14 days. The two candidates who win the largest amount of votes in the first election stand in the second round. The President is elected for a five-year term and is limited to two terms.
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