ZAGREB, November 14, 2019 - The government on Thursday decided to call the first round of the presidential elections for 22 December, and deadlines relevant for the procedure start running on 21 November.
The official campaign in the run-up to the first round of the elections will take a fortnight.
Presidential hopefuls can collect signatures of voters for their candidacies from 22 November until midnight of 3 December, and the minimum number required is 10,000 signatures. The State Electoral Commission has a 48-hour deadline as of 3 December to announce the official list of eligible candidates.
The official campaigning starts with the publication of that list and ends at the midnight 20 December. A ban on electioneering is imposed on the day before election day and until the closure of polling stations.
The second round of the elections is envisaged for 5 January.
In the event that not one of the presidential candidates wins more than 50% of the votes on 22 December, the two first candidates will compete in the run-off vote in two weeks' time.
The incumbent president, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović won her first term on 11 January 2015. She has recently officially confirmed that she would run for a second term.
Her main contenders are Zoran Milanović, a former prime minister and former leader of the Social Democratic Party, as well as Miroslav Škoro, a singer-turned-politician who is perceived as a conservative candidate. Croatian member of European Parliament, Mislav Kolakušić, a judge-turned-politician, has also announced his candidacy, and he is perceived as the candidate of anti-establishment movements.
Also, a former diplomat Ante Simonić said he would compete in the elections.
An independent candidate Dejan Kovač has been supported by the HSLS party, and the unofficial list includes also lawyer Dalija Orešković, who was at the helm of the Conflict of Interest Commission, starlet Ava Karabatić, three members of parliament Ivan Pernar, Tomislav Panenić and Vlaho Orepić, and filmmaker Dario Juričan.
More news about presidential elections can be found in the Politics section.
