According to the results from the State Electoral Commission (DIP), after 98.65% of polling stations were processed, the current President of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, secured 49.11% of the votes, while the HDZ candidate and coalition partner, Dragan Primorac, received 19.36%, reports Index.hr.
Candidate Marija Selak Raspudić won 9.21% of the votes, followed by Ivana Kekin with 8.84%. Tomislav Jonjić garnered 5.01%, Miro Bulj 3.79%, Branka Lozo 2.41%, and Niko Tokić Kartelo 0.88%.
Zoran Milanović and Dragan Primorac will face each other in the second round of the presidential elections, scheduled for January 12.
Following Primorac’s address to the public, Prime Minister and HDZ leader Andrej Plenković also made a statement.
“Thank you to everyone who voted today. Turnout was low. I am glad that our candidate made it to the second round. Starting tomorrow, it’s a new game, a new two weeks. We believe in a winning result in two weeks. Milanović has no program. The media narrative prevailed that we shouldn’t put all our eggs in one basket. I remind all citizens of the achievements made by the government—it was the government that accomplished this, not Milanović. We do not want to be dragged toward Russia; we want Croatia to move in the right direction.
Primorac wanted to be the candidate; no one else in the HDZ leadership wanted to take on this challenge. Like every HDZ candidate, he faced attacks. These attacks were orchestrated from both the left and the right. We defeated Milanović eight months ago. We will all fight together in the second round,” he said. “Primorac really wanted to be the candidate; no one else was forced into it,” Plenković added. “We face sabotage all the time,” he said.
“We held elections after two tough mandates, formed a third government, and convincingly won the EU elections. Now, because of one election, we will not accept the imposed narrative that this is a big problem for HDZ. It’s not. HDZ is here, and we are leading the country in the right direction,” said Plenković. “Tomorrow is a completely different game. On the right, the candidates’ sole task was to take votes away from Primorac,” he concluded.
On the other side, the President of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, posted on Facebook after his convincing victory in the first round of the presidential elections.
“I urge you to go out and vote in two weeks. I will fight for a principled Croatia that takes care of its interests. I will fight for the rule of law, against the usurpation and abuse of power. Anyone who thinks this way will be my ally; I will strive to have no enemies,” Milanović wrote.
To recall, Milanović won 49.1% of the votes in the first round and came close to being elected president today. However, since he received less than 50% of the votes, he will face Dragan Primorac in the second round, who secured 19.35% of the votes today.
