ZAGREB, 27 June 2022 - Ivica Puljak, who was short 1.3 percentage points for the victory in the first round of the election, and Zoran Đogaš, the candidate supported by the HDZ party will vie in Split's mayoral runoff, according DIP's first results of the snap elections held on Sunday.
The first results released by the State Electoral Commission (DIP) on Sunday evening after all of the 163 polling stations were closed in this second biggest Croatian city, show that Puljak of the Centar party won 48.73% of the vote (22,561 ballots), while Đogaš came as second with 25.67% of the vote (11,887 ballots). Thus they will run in the second round of the mayoral election on 10 June.
Other mayoral seven candidates won below 10% of the vote: Željko Kerum of the HGS (7.94%), Josip Markotić of the Bridge party (4.53%), Aris Zlodre of the Homeland Movement (3.89%). Davor Matijević of the SDP (3.84%), Tamara Visković of the We Can and the New Left (1.85%), Kristina Vidan of the Pametno za Split i Dalmaciju (1.28%) and an independent Ante Franić (0.66%).
Puljak's Centar party wins a relative majority in city council
Also, the early elections were held for the 31-seat city council, and according to the returns from the polling stations the Centar party won 42.47% of the vote. The slate of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) follows with 23.81%, while the HGS party of a former mayor Kerum ranks third with 7.11% of the vote.
The other three slates that passed the 5% threshold are Bridge with 6.61% of the vote, the SDP/HSU with 5.75% and the Homeland Movement (DP) with its partners HDS and HSP and the Sovereignists (5.63%).
The turnout at the polls was 31.6%.
Early elections for the mayor and the city council were in Split on Sunday, slightly more than 12 months after the ordinary local elections which were held in Croatia in May 2022. The snap polls were called after Mayor Ivica Puljak and his two deputies tendered their resignations on 8 April following a scandal involving Deputy Mayor Bojan Ivošević, who threatened a local reporter and was subsequently indicted for intimidation. The Office of the State Prosecutor (DORH) in Spit issued the indictment on 23 March.
After their resignation, the members of the 31-seat city council also stepped down, paving the way for an early election for the city council.
