The main committee of the opposition Most party decided on Friday to support conservative independent candidate Miroslav Skoro at the forthcoming presidential election.

“We want the next President of Croatia to be a person who will protect the interests of all citizens, and not just the interests of a party or his own interests. We think that this cannot happen under the wings of the existing large political parties, but that it can happen with a person who at this moment has a realistic chance of changing things and the rules of the game.

That’s why the main committee has decided to support Miroslav Skoro’s candidacy at the forthcoming election,” the party’s leader Bozo Petrov told the press after the committee’s meeting.

Petrov said that moves announced by Skoro corresponded to Most’s demands, such as calls for a fairer election system, the free expression of popular will at referendums, environmental protection, the fight for Croatian interests and resources, combating corruption and clientelism, and declaration of an exclusive economic zone.

He added that they had agreed with Skoro joint activities on individual programme points.

Asked if Most agreed with Skoro’s view on outlawing the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS), Petrov said that Skoro had explained his position on the matter by saying that such a decision would rest with the Constitutional Court.

Asked if he supported the restoration of the semi-presidential system, Petrov said that the President of the Republic cannot be “a mere wallflower” and should be given appropriate powers.

The presidential election is expected to be held in late December.