Eighth Presidential Election Begins in Croatia: 8 Candidates Run for the Position
The presidential election in Croatia started this morning, 29 December. Polling stations opened across the country at 7:00 a.m. and will remain open until 19:00 p.m. local time, Index reports.
In addition to Croatia, the President of the Republic is also elected abroad, in 38 countries, which is nine less than five years ago.
This time, eight candidates are running in the presidential race. Three of them are women, representing the left and right political spectrum. A total of 3,762,224 voters are eligible to vote.
To win in the first round, a presidential candidate must receive a majority of votes from all eligible voters. If he loses, the second round will be held two weeks later, on 12 January 2025. The president is elected for a five-year term and can be elected no more than twice.
The SEC will announce the first election results at 20:00, just an hour after the polls close, and they will be updated every 10 minutes.
‘I believe that after 22:00 it will be known for sure whether there will be a second round or not,’ says the SEC vice president.
The State Election Commission will release data on voter turnout on Sunday at noon and at 5pm.
The SEC urged employers working on election Sunday to allow their employees to go to the polls.
About 13,400 domestic and five foreign observers, two each from the US and Lithuania and one from Georgia, are monitoring Sunday's elections.
About 44,000 citizens are involved in the election process.