Zoran Milanovic, a NATO critic, is on track to win the run-off vote after securing 49 percent votes in round one.
Croatians are voting in a presidential run-off election, with incumbent Zoran Milanovic expected to win a second term in office in what would be a blow to the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, which backs his rival.
Polling stations opened on Sunday at 7am local time (06:00 GMT) and would close at about 7pm (18:00 GMT), with exit polls expected minutes later.
Milanovic, an outspoken critic of Western military support for Ukraine against Russia, won 49.1 percent of the vote during the contest’s first round two weeks ago – narrowly missing an outright victory.
The 58-year-old leader entered the contest with surging momentum as he faced off against Dragan Primorac, who managed to garner 19.35 percent of the votes. Primorac, 59, is backed by the HDZ party, which has governed the former Yugoslav republic since declaring independence in 1991.
The election comes as the European Union and NATO member country of 3.8 million people struggles with biting inflation, corruption scandals and a labour shortage.
Divisive politics
Milanovic, a former left-wing prime minister, took over the presidency in 2020 with the backing of the main opposition Social Democrats (SDP) party.
Milanovic condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but has also criticised the West’s military support for Kyiv. His main rival has dubbed him “a pro-Russian puppet”.
He is very popular and is sometimes compared with United States President-elect Donald Trump for his combative style of communication with political opponents.
The 58-year-old has been a fierce critic of current Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and the pair have long sparred with each other.
The incumbent president regularly accuses Plenkovic and his conservative HDZ party of systemic corruption, calling the prime minister a “serious threat to Croatia’s democracy”.
Croatia’s presidential powers are limited, but a win by Milanovic would be a setback for the HDZ and Prime Minister Plenkovic.
Ceremonial position
An elected president holds political authority and acts as the supreme military commander. Many believe the presidential position is key for the political balance of power.
Primorac entered politics in the early 2000s when he was the science and education minister in the HDZ-led government. He unsuccessfully ran for the presidency in 2009, and after that mainly focused on his academic career, including lecturing at universities in the US, China and Croatia.
Milanovic denied he is pro-Russian but last year blocked the dispatch of five Croatian officers to NATO’s mission in Germany called Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine.
He also pledged he would never approve sending Croatian soldiers as part of any NATO mission to Ukraine. Plenkovic and his government say there is no such proposal.
Milanovic accused Primorac of associating with “mass murderers”, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s associates and the war in Gaza.
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