Politics

According to election results released at 5h CET (with 99.98% votes processed) on December 23, 2019; Croatia President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and former Prime Minister Zoran Milanović will advance to round two of the Croatian presidential elections on January 5, 2020. Miroslav Škoro, a popular folk musician, who was closely trailing Grabar-Kitarović in the early exit polls, will not advance to the second round. Here is a breakdown of the final results for all eleven presidential candidates: 29.55% - Zoran Milanović – Former Prime Minister | SDP26.65% - Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović – Current President | HDZ24.45% - Miroslav Škoro – Folk singer and former…

ZAGREB, December 22, 2019 - Voting at polling stations in Croatia's presidential elections is proceeding smoothly, except for two cases of delayed opening of polling stations, reported by non-anonymous citizens to GONG, this election monitoring nongovernmental organisation said. Citizens also reported not having been informed of procedures and deadlines for the registration of changes regarding the place where they planned to vote and of changes in the address of their polling station in relation to the previous election. "Since that it was previously confirmed that party members had been appointed to electoral committees and the State Election Commission (DIP) replaced…

ZAGREB, December 22, 2019 - A survey shows that more than 40 percent of Croatians have a positive opinion about the European Union, while as many as 81 percent know that Croatia is taking over the presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first time on January 1, 2020, the Jutarnji List daily reported on Sunday. The survey, financed by the EU, was carried out by the IPSOS Puls agency between November 27 and December 3. A total of 1,005 Croatians took part in the survey. If a referendum on accession to the EU were to be…

ZAGREB, December 22, 2019 - Close to 16% of Croatians with voting rights cast their ballots in Sunday's presidential vote by noon and the turnout was higher than five years ago, the State Election Commission (DIP) said. The turnout of 15.75% is better than at the last presidential elections five years ago, when 13.19% of the electorate had voted by 11.30 a.m. The turnout by noon in Sunday's presidential vote is 2.5% higher, meaning that 100,000 voters more voted in today's elections than in 2014, said DIP deputy chair Ana Lovrin. A total of 3.855 million eligible voters are choosing…

More than 1,000 Zagreb residents and supporters chanted “prison” for Mayor Milan Bandić at yesterday’s protest in the city's downtown square. The demonstration, which was organized to protest the Zagreb mayor and multiple USKOK (Croatian State Prosecutor's Office for the Suppression of Organized Crime and Corruption) inductee Milan Bandić, was held at Trg bana Jelačića, the main city square, according to Index on December 21, 2019. The protest began at 16h and was organized by a number of associations: Udruga građana Siget (the Siget Citizens' Association), Braniteljska udruga Vidra (the Veterans of Vidra), Veterani i društvena akcija sa Zelenim odredom…

ZAGREB, December 22, 2019 - Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. on Sunday in Croatia and abroad for Croatia's seventh presidential election in which 3.855 million eligible voters are choosing between incumbent Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and ten other candidates. The other candidates are former prime minister Zoran Milanović, singer-turned-politician Miroslav Škoro, MEP and former judge Mislav Kolakušić, former Conflict of Interest Commission head Dalija Orešković, film director Dario Juričan, economist Dejan Kovač, former MP Anto Đapić, activist and university professor Katarina Peović, MP Ivan Pernar and former Klanjec mayor Nedjeljko Babić. Polling stations close at 7 p.m. The election is being…

ZAGREB, December 21, 2019 - Election silence is in force in Croatia on Saturday and Sunday due to the December 22 election at which 3.855 million voters will choose their president for the next five years among 11 candidates. Election silence began at 00.00 hours on Saturday and lasts until 7 p.m. on Sunday when polling stations close. Over the next two days there is a ban on any electioneering and publication of result estimates, previous unofficial result estimates as well as candidates' photos, statements and interviews. In the seventh presidential election since gaining independence, Croatian voters at home and…

ZAGREB, December 21, 2019 - The number of students in Croatian primary and secondary schools has dropped by nearly 50,000 in six years, according to Science and Education Ministry data, Jutarnji List daily reported on Saturday. The paper says that emigration in recent years, notably of whole families with children, exacerbates the depopulation trends. The latest ministry data shows that a record-low number of students (461,372) enrolled in primary and secondary schools in the 2019/20 school year – 3,198 fewer than the previous year. Since the 2013/14 school year, the number of primary and secondary school students has dropped by…

ZAGREB, December 21, 2019 - Human Rights Ombudswoman Lora Vidović said on Saturday the government's opinion on her report for 2018 had never been shorter and with fewer responses to the report's recommendations. Of the 209 recommendations, the government did not state its position on nearly half and only 26 were accepted fully or in part, Vidović said on Croatian Radio, adding that the government's opinion came in early November, seven months after she submitted her report on the state of human rights. Vidović said the recommendations were based on citizens' complaints and that the point of the report was…

ZAGREB, December 21, 2019 - The commander of NATO's Resolute Support Mission and United States Forces - Afghanistan, General Austin Scott Miller, on Friday thanked Croatia and its troops for serving in Afghanistan. Miller met Croatian Defence Minister Damir Krstičević at the mission's HQ in Kabul, the Croatian Defence Ministry said in a press release. Krstičević, on an official visit, and Miller talked about Croatia's contribution to the Mission, NATO's plans for the Mission's future and the security situation in Afghanistan. Miller thanked the Croatian people, saying that serving in Afghanistan was important for all NATO states, for partnership within…