FILE - Croatia's President Zoran Milanovic addresses the media outside a polling station after casting his vote in Zagreb, Croatia, April 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File)
Republished November 19, 2024 - 12:19 PM
Original Publication Date November 19, 2024 - 11:31 AM
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatia will hold a presidential election on Dec. 29, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic announced Tuesday.
The government is expected on Thursday to formally schedule the vote. If no candidate wins an outright majority on Dec. 29, a runoff vote will take place two weeks later.
Incumbent populist President Zoran Milanovic has said he will run for reelection. Milanovic is backed by the opposition Social Democratic Party, while his main challenger is expected to be Dragan Primorac, a candidate of the governing conservatives.
Milanovic and Plenkovic are bitter political rivals. Milanovic opposes the Croatian government's support for Ukraine, including the participation of Croatian troops in a NATO-led training mission for Ukrainian soldiers.
The conservative government was shaken this week by the arrest of Heath Minister Vili Beroš on suspicion of corruption in procurement deals for Croatian hospitals.
Other candidates from the left and right are also expected to join the presidential race.
Milanovic, 58, had served as prime minister in the past, before winning the presidential election five years ago by beating incumbent Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic.
News from © The Associated Press, 2024