Eleven potential presidential candidates submitted their candidacies to the State Electoral Commission (DIP) by midnight on Tuesday, the deadline for submission. However, according to unofficial information, only eight of them have collected the required minimum of 10,000 valid signatures.

The final list of candidates whose names will officially appear on the ballot paper is expected to be announced on Wednesday afternoon.

With this announcement, the official campaign for the eighth presidential election since Croatia’s independence will begin.

The campaign will run until Friday 27 December at midnight

The DIP has received candidacies from Zoran Milanovic, the incumbent president who is seeking a second term in office with the support of the SDP and its partners, Dragan Primorac, who is supported by the HDZ and its partners, Miro Bulj from the Most party and independents Marija Selak-Raspudic, Niko Tokic-Kartelo and Slobodan Midzic.

Other candidates are Drazen Keleminec (Autochthonous Croatian Party of Rights), Ivana Kekin (Mozemo party), Branka Lozo (Home and National Rally) and Karolina Vidovic-Kristo (Determination and Justice), who was the last to submit her candidature on Tuesday.

To go from potential to official candidates, DIP must verify that each of them has collected at least 10,000 valid voter signatures.

Although DIP has 48 hours to complete this process, it is expected to finalise the verification earlier and publish the list of candidates on Wednesday afternoon. This will officially open the election campaign, which will run until midnight on Friday 27 December. The presidential election is scheduled for Sunday 29 December.

Several candidates have withdrawn

Of the 14 potential candidates who announced their intention to run at the start of the signature collection 12 days ago, some have since withdrawn. Collecting 10,000 signatures proved to be difficult, especially for those who do not have a party infrastructure.

Anton Filic, a former journalist for the daily newspaper Vecernji List, was the first to withdraw, followed by the independent Aurora Weiss. Mislav Kolakusic, a former MEP and chairman of the Law and Justice party, was also unable to submit signatures. The independent candidate Pavle Perovic, who never actively campaigned for his candidature, also withdrew.

If the unofficial information proves to be correct and only eight candidates enter the race, this would be a decline compared to the result five years ago, when there were 11 candidates.

The highest number of presidential candidates – 13 – was recorded in 2005, while the lowest, just three, took part in the 1997 election. There were also eight candidates in the 1992 election.

To win in the first round, a presidential candidate must receive a majority of the votes cast. If no candidate achieves this, a run-off election will take place two weeks later, on 12 January 2025. The president is elected for a term of five years and can serve a maximum of two terms.