There are 3,769,598 eligible voters, for whom 6,755 polling stations will be opened, including 105 in 38 countries, ranging from neighboring countries to some countries overseas such as Australia, Argentina, USA and Canada.

Due to the time difference, the first polling stations will open in Australia, already on Saturday evening. The first polling stations will open at 9 p.m. Croatian time (CET) in Canberra, Sydney, and Melbourne, and they will be the first to close, at 9 a.m. on Sunday.

The State Electoral Commission (DIP), which is in charge of implementing elections, has called on voters to go to the polls in the second round of the presidential election on Sunday.

Polling stations will open on Sunday at 0700 hrs and close at 1900 hours. Until then, a two-day election silence will be in effect, during which any electoral campaigning, as well as the publication of results projections, are prohibited.

DIP will release first incomplete results half an hour after the closure of polling stations in Croatia.

The election outcome could be known as early as Sunday around 2100 hours.

DIP will release turnout data at noon and at 1700 hours.

The work of polling boards and committees in Croatia and abroad will be monitored by 14,620 observers, 1,220 more than in the first round, organised by the HDZ, the SDP, the GONG NGO, and the Roma National Council. Approximately 44,000 citizens will be involved in the organisation of the elections.

Tudjman only winner in the first round

Since the first direct presidential elections in 1992, Croatia has had the following presidents: Franjo Tudjman (1992 and 1997), Stipe Mesic (2000 and 2005), Ivo Josipovic (2009), Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic (2014), and Zoran Milanovic (2019).

Tudjman was elected president three times: first as the president of the Presidency of the former Socialist Republic of Croatia in the Parliament after the HDZ’s victory in the first multi-party elections in 1990, and then twice in direct elections, in 1992 and 1997, when he was the outright winner, securing over 50% of the vote in the first round.

The Croatian president is elected when he or she garners an absolute majority of votes from all voters who cast their ballots. If this does not happen, the two candidates with the highest number of votes proceed to the second round, which is held 14 days later.

The first round of the eighth presidential elections in Croatia was held on 29 December, with a total of eight candidates participating in the race. Apart from the current president Milanovic and Primorac, who were the first two vote-getters (slightly above 49.09% and 19.35% respectively), each of the remaining six candidates received less than 10% of the vote. Independent Marija Selak Raspudic mustered 150,435 votes, or 9.25%, and Ivana Kekin of the Green We Can! party followed with 8.89%.

Independent Tomislav Jonjic finished fifth with 5.09% of the vote.

Miro Bulj of the Bridge party won 3.82%, while Branka Lozo of the Home and National Rally (DOMiNO) party finished next to the last (2.41%), while independent Niko Tokic Kartelo, a businessman, was last, with 0.88% of the vote.