At its meeting on Thursday, the government officially scheduled the presidential election - the eighth since Croatia’s independence - for Sunday, 29 December.

The decision comes into force on 28 November and marks the beginning of the timeframe for collecting candidate signatures.

“At least 30 days must pass between the announcement and the election date. That is why the government has chosen Sunday 29 December,” explained Minister of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation Damir Habijan.

12 days to collect 10,000 signatures

In order to participate in the presidential race and get on the ballot, candidates must collect 10,000 signatures from Croatian citizens aged 18 and over. This can be done from midnight on 29 November and candidates have 12 days to complete the process. The rules apply equally to party-backed and independent candidates.

Each voter may only support one candidate.

Signatures must be collected on official forms provided by the State Electoral Commission (DIP) and submitted to the Commission.

At the end of the 12-day collection period, the DIP has 48 hours to verify the signatures and announce the final list of valid candidates.

The official election campaign will begin on 13 December, after the announcement of the candidates. The election campaign can continue until midnight on 28 December. On this day, the media blackout period begins – 24 hours before the start of the election.

During the election silende, all forms of election campaigning, including the publication of polls or projections, are prohibited.

Second round on 12 January, currently 12 potential candidates

If no candidate receives 50% plus one vote in the first round, a second round will take place two weeks later, on 12 January, with the two candidates with the most votes.

“We have scheduled the election for 29 December because we thought it would be better to hold the first round between Christmas and New Year so that the second round can take place in a quieter period, outside the holidays,” Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Wednesday, explaining the government’s decision to choose the date over the previous option of 22 December.

The five-year term of office of President Zoran Milanovic ends on 18 February 2025. He is eligible to seek re-election and has announced his candidacy. Currently, 11 other candidates have announced their intention to run.

Eight men and four women have declared their intention to run for the presidency.

Croatian citizens will vote in over 50 countries worldwide

In addition to Milanovic, the independent candidate Dragan Primorac, who is supported by the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Miro Bulj from the Most party, the lawyer and historian Tomislav Jonjic, Drazen Keleminec, chairman of the autochthonous Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), Mislav Kolakusic, chairman of the Law and Justice party, the entrepreneur Niko Tokic-Kartelo and the former journalist and trade union leader Anton Filic are also running.

The female candidates include the independent Marija-Selak Raspudic, Ivana Kekin, candidate of the Mozemo party, Branka Lozo, representative of the newly founded DOMiNO party, and the independent candidate Aurora Weiss.

In addition to Croatia, Croatian citizens will cast their votes in over 50 countries worldwide. In the last election, there were 47 countries.