Election Tracker
Archive Search
Croatia
At stake: President
Background
(Angus Reid Global Scan) - In 1991, Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia, triggering the start of a full-scale war. With the help of the Yugoslav Army, Croatian Serbs expelled non-Serbs from eastern areas of the country. A year later, the United Nations (UN) sent 14,000 peacekeeping troops to Croatia and instituted four protected areas.
Also in 1992, Franjo Tudjman of the conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won the presidential election. Tudjman was in charge of a hard-line nationalist administration, which was internationally chided for its human rights record. Tudjman won re-election in 1997, but his authoritarian style led the European Union (EU) to abandon any membership discussions with Croatia.
Tudjman died in 1999, and was replaced on an interim basis by Vlatko Pavletic and Zlatko Tomic. In February 2000, Stjepan Mesic of the Croatian People's Party (HNS) became president, defeating Drazen Budisa of the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) in a run-off.
In November 2003, Croatians renewed their House of Representatives. Ivo Sanader of the HDZ was appointed as prime minister in December, and formed a coalition government with the Democratic Centre (DC).
Click here for Croatia 2003 Election Tracker
Sanader's government vowed to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, established by UN Security Council Resolution 827 to deal with "the serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991, and as a response to the threat to international peace and security posed by those serious violations."
Croatia became an official candidate for EU membership in June 2004. Mesic has actively promoted the country's EU prospects. In October, EU enlargement commissioner Guenter Verheugen met with Mesic and declared Croatia "is not only sufficiently, but extraordinarily prepared for beginning negotiations."
2005 Presidential Election
The president is largely considered as a ceremonial dignitary in Croatia, but is the commander of chief of the armed forces, oversees both foreign policy and intelligence services, and confirms the prime minister designate after the parliamentary elections.
The election was originally scheduled for Dec. 21, 2004, but was postponed until Jan. 2, 2005. President Stjepan Mesic—who sought a second term in office—made the announcement on Oct. 29, but gave no specific reasons for the delay.
Deputy prime minister Jadranka Kosor of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) was Mesic's main rival. The Croatian Right's Party (HSP) nominated Slaven Letica, who received 4.1 per cent of the vote in the 2000 ballot.
On Dec. 15, football coach Miroslav Blazevic—who led the Croatian national team to a third-place finish in the France 1998 World Cup—announced he was joining the race to "bring back a smile to a tired and demoralized Croatia."
On Dec. 20, the Croatian State Election Commission (DIP) confirmed 13 presidential contenders. In addition to Mesic, Kosor, Letica and Blazevic, the list included Durda Adlesic of the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS), Anto Kovacevic of the Croatian Christian Democratic Union (HKDU), Ivic Pasalic of the Croatian Bloc - Movement for a Modern Croatia (HB-PZMH), Tomislav Petrak of the Croatian Populace Party (HPS), Miroslav Rajh of the Croatian Youth Party (HSM) and independent candidates Ljubo Cesic Rojs, Mladen Keser, Doris Kosta and Boris Miksic.
A late December Metron / Vectura poll published in Vecernji List put Mesic as the frontrunner with 45.9 per cent, followed by Kosor with 15.6 per cent. The remaining contenders were in single digits.
Voting went on without any major problems on Jan. 2. Preliminary results put Mesic in first place with close to 49 per cent, followed by Kosor with just over 20 per cent. Since no candidate garnered more than 50 per cent of all cast ballots, a run-off will take place on Jan. 16.
Miksic—a Croat American businessman who returned to the country after three decades abroad—complained of "irregularities" and suggested holding a public vote count, saying, "The results have been manipulated, my votes were stolen." The DIP rejected Miksic's request as "unfounded."
A run-off Metron / Vectura poll published in Vecernji List put support for Mesic at 61.5 per cent, with Kosor at 26.1 per cent.
Run-off voting took place on Jan. 16. A 20,000-respondent exit poll by GfK suggested a victory for Mesic with 71.1 per cent of the vote, with Kosor a distant second at 25.5 per cent.
Official results were released on Jan. 17, giving Mesic 65.93 per cent of all cast ballots. In his acceptance speech, Mesic vowed to build "a modern and just country of all of its citizens" and said Croatia "has come a long way in building its democracy. (...) That's why we're now before the doors of the European Union."
Political Players
President: Stjepan Mesic - HNS
Prime minister: Ivo Sanader - HDZ
The president is elected to a five-year term by popular vote.
Legislative Branch: The Sabor (Assembly) has one chamber. The Zastupnicki Dom (House of Representatives) currently has 151 members elected to four-year terms; 143 members in multi-seat constituencies—including four members chosen by proportional representation to express the views of Croatians residing abroad—and eight members of ethnic communities and minorities.
Results of Last Election:
President - Jan. 2 and Jan. 16, 2005
Jan. 2 | Jan. 16 | |
Stjepan Mesic - | 48.92% | 65.93% |
Jadranka Kosor - | 20.30% | 34.07% |
Boris Miksic | 17.79% | -- |
Durda Adlesic - | 2.69% | -- |
Slaven Letica - | 2.59% | -- |
Ljubo Cesic Rojs | 1.85% | -- |
Ivic Pasalic - Croatian Bloc - Movement | 1.82% | -- |
Anto Kovacevic - Croatian | 0.86% | -- |
Miroslav Blazevic | 0.80% | -- |
Miroslav Rajh - | 0.66% | -- |
Doris Kosta | 0.37% | -- |
Mladen Keser | 0.32% | -- |
Tomislav Petrak - | 0.12% | -- |
House of Representatives - Nov. 23, 2003
Vote% | Seats | |
Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) | 33.9% | 66 |
Social Democratic Party (SDP) | 22.6% | 43 |
Croatian People's Party (HNS) | 8.0% | 10 |
Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) | 7.2% | 9 |
Croatian Right's Party (HSP) | 6.4% | 8 |
Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) | 4.0% | 3 |
Croatian Pensioners Party (HSU) | 4.0% | 3 |
Croatian Democratic Peasant Party (HDSS) | 1.0% | 1 |
Ethnic Community / Minority Representatives | -- | 8 |
