Incumbent President Zoran Milanovic, a vocal critic of the European Union and NATO, has been re-elected for another five-year term in a decisive victory, Al Jazeera reports.
The opposition-backed leader garnered over 74% of the vote in a runoff election, leaving his rival Dragan Primorac, of the governing conservative party, far behind with just 25%.
“Croatia, thank you,” Milanovic told jubilant supporters in the capital, Zagreb. “This is a big day for me personally, and I view this victory as recognition for my work, a kind of act of people’s trust in me.”
Milanovic, supported by the Social Democratic Party (SDP), entered the runoff with significant momentum after securing 49.1% of the vote in the first round two weeks prior, narrowly missing an outright victory. His opponent, Primorac, backed by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), only managed to obtain 19.35% in the initial vote. The HDZ has been the dominant political force in Croatia since the country gained independence in 1991.
“In the past five years, I did my job in the best faith and I hope that people have seen that,” Milanovic said after casting his ballot earlier in the day.
Milanovic, a former left-wing prime minister, assumed the presidency in 2020. He has been critical of both Russia and the West’s military support for Kyiv. His combative style has led some to draw comparisons with US President-elect Donald Trump.
The president has been a fierce critic of current Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, accusing him and the ruling HDZ party of systemic corruption and labeling the prime minister a “serious threat to Croatia’s democracy.”
Although the Croatian presidency holds limited power, the position is considered an important political authority and acts as the supreme military commander. While the president cannot veto laws, he holds considerable influence in foreign policy, defense, and security matters. Milanovic’s re-election is viewed as a significant setback for the HDZ and Plenkovic.
While Milanovic is one of the European leaders who has refused the dispatch of Croatian officers to a NATO mission assisting Ukraine. He has also said he would never approve sending Croatian soldiers as part of any NATO mission to Ukraine.
In the lead-up to the election, Milanovic also accused Primorac of associating with “mass murderers,” referencing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s associates and the war in Gaza.
Primorac, who previously served as the science and education minister in an HDZ-led government in the early 2000s, unsuccessfully ran for president in 2009. Since then, he has primarily focused on his academic career, lecturing at universities in the US, China, and Croatia.
