MP Gordan Maras of the Social Democrats (SDP) said on Wednesday the situation in the biggest opposition party, which saw its rating free fall in recent months amid internal conflicts, publicly called for the party's leadership to hold intra-party elections.

“Considering that the current state of affairs is untenable, I hereby call for the party leadership to hold a party election, so that members of the SDP can vote and lend legitimacy to new people who would lead the SDP in the upcoming period,” Maras told reporters.

According to the latest polling from June, the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) is at a 27.6 percent rating, followed by SDP at 18.5 percent, and the left-leaning populist Zivi Zid party at 13.8 percent, with many analysts and party members themselves blaming the leadership of Davor Bernardic for the low ratings.

Bernardic had replaced the former prime minister Zoran Milanovic as party’s leader in November 2016, following the party’s unexpectedly low result in the September 2016 early election. With populists Zivi Zid eroding away party’s support, the party became embroiled in increasingly escalating internal conflicts.

Maras, who recently became head of the party’s Zagreb branch, the largest in the country, added that everyone interested to see the Croatians get the most out of the SDP party should advocate for such a solution to the current party crisis.

“We now have a situation which citizens do not deserve. They deserve a better SDP, and that those running the party understand their responsibility,” Maras said.

Although Maras was not one of the 90 senior party members who recently signed a letter asking party president Davor Bernardic to step down, Maras said on Wednesday it no longer mattered who signed the letter and who did not.

He was also asked to comment on the Agrokor settlement, set to be voted for by company’s creditors on Wednesday, and said that he expected the deal to be agreed.

“I expect Agrokor to move on but, unfortunately, I also expect loose ends to go on for years, because of the non-transparent involvement of the government and the state-appointed administrators over the past year.”

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