Description of Electoral System:

(courtesy of IFES election guide)

The President is elected by popular vote to serve a 5-year term. In the Assembly (Sabor) 152 members are elected by popular vote to serve 4-year terms.

Electoral laws of Croatia are available here. 

Most recent elections

Presidential elections -  2009/2010

The fifth presidential elections in Croatia took place in two rounds: the first round was held on the 27th December 2009 and the second round on the 10th January 2010.

The electoral period began on the 4th November with a 12 days period of collecting the signatures by potential candidates to become an official candidate. The official campaign started on the 19th November when the State Electoral Commission announced the 12 candidates who were eligible to run for being elected.

The first round was held on the 27th December 2009 and no candidate managed to obtain the demanded majority of votes (50% + one vote), therefore the second round was necessary. It was held on the 10th January 2010. This time voters had to choose between two candidates that achieved the most votes in the first round: these two candidates were Ivo Josipović (SDP) and Milan Bandić (Independent). In the first round only 43.96% of all citizens eligible to vote participated in the election, which was the lowest turnout of any presidential election in Croatia's history. In the second round 50.13% of citizens who are eligible to vote fulfilled their public right.

Official results showed that Josipović won 60.26% of the votes in run-off election leaving his rival, Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, far behind (39.74%). Josipović will succeed incumbent president Stjepan Mesić who leaves office on the 18th February 2010 after two consecutive five-year terms.

Detailed results of 2009-2010 Croatian Presidential elections can be found here. For detailed results and analysis, please refer to The Robert Schuman Foundation’ website and check „European Elections Monitor” as well as OSCE/ODIHR’s Election documents.

Recent elections

Local elections, 17th May, 2009

The fifth local elections in Croatia took place in two rounds: the first round was held on the 17th May and the second round on the 31th May 2009. Local elections were held in all cities and counties of Croatia. A total of 3,024,446 voters were eligible to fulfill their public right. These elections were very special for Croats because this was the first time that county prefects were elected by direct ballot. For the first time citizens voted directly for the heads of municipalities, cities and counties, and for law-making bodies in their communities.

The electoral law of Croatia states that a candidate for a prefect seat has to gain 50 % of the vote in the first round. If none of the candidates wins a majority, the two candidates with the highest percentage of the votes will compete in a runoff round.

The non-governmental organization GONG which monitored the elections stated that voting was proceeding peacefully and without major interruptions, although at some polling stations violation of the election blackout was visible.

_{(source: http://www.emportal.rs)}

Parliamentary elections - 2007

Parliamentary elections to the Croatian Parliament (Hrvatski Sabor) were held on 25th November 2007 in Croatia and on 24th and 25th November abroad. The official campaign started on 3rd November and ended on 23rd November at midnight. The Hrvatski Sabor comprises 150 MPs, elected for four years by a proportional voting system. In every general election Croatia is divided into ten constituencies each electing 14 MPs. A political party has to win a minimum of 5% of votes to be represented in Parliament. Further information on Croatian parliamentary election in 2007, is here. Analysis on the parliamentary elections prepared by the Robert Schuman Foundation can be read here.

Further information on elections, and results, in Croatian, provided by the State Commission for Elections of Croatia, are here.

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Parliamentary elections - 2003

The last Parliamentary elections were held in Croatia in November 2003. Further information on 2003 Parliamentary elections and results are available at IFES website or here. OSCE-ODIHR report on elections is here. NORDEM report on elections can be read here.

Presidential elections - 2005

The fourth presidential elections in Croatia took place in two rounds in January 2005.

The State Elections Committee published a list of candidates on 15 December 2004. President Stjepan Mesić stood for re-election, and the governing HDZ nominated cabinet minister Jadranka Kosor. A total of thirteen candidates were accepted, each after having submitted 10,000 citizen signatures, an endorsement required by law.

Mesić gained nearly 49% of the vote in the first round, held on 2 January 2005. He only narrowly missed the 50% target for an outright win, with Kosor trailing with 20% and a surprising independent candidate Boris Mikšić with 18% of the vote. The elections went to a second round held on 16 January 2005 in which Mesić and Kosor were the only candidates. This time, Mesić was elected by about 66% of the vote against Kosor's 34%.

Results of 2005 Presidential elections can be found at IFES website.