President Zoran Milanovic of Croatia reelected for a five year term

President Zoran Milanovic has been reelected for a five-year term as the President of the European country of Croatia. According to the State Electoral Commission, President Zoran Milanovic, backed by the opposition Social Democratic Party won over 74 %of the run-off vote.  Zoran Milanovic was elected as the President of Croatia for the first time in 2020.  He is a critic of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Croatia is a member of both the European Union and NATO.

President Zoran Milanovic is seen as pro-Russian by his opponent which he denies. He has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but has also criticised the military support provided by the Western countries to Ukraine.

Presidential Election in Croatia 

The presidential election was held in Croatia on 29 December 2024.  President Zoran Milanovic backed by the opposition Social Democratic Party won 49.1 % of the votes . The ruling party candidate Dragan Primorac of the Croatian Democratic Union secured 19.2% of the votes. 

According to the Croatian constitution, a candidate needs to secure more than 50 % of votes to be elected. Thus none of the candidates was declared elected. 

A second round of voting to elect the President was held on 12 January 2025 in which Zoran Milanovic secured 74 % of the votes. 

The Croatian Democratic Union party has ruled the country since it gained independence in 1991 from Yugoslavia.

Constitutional Position of President in Croatia 

The President is the Head of State in Croatia and the real executive power is vested with the Prime Minister who is responsible to the Parliament called Sabor.

The President is directly elected by the people for a term of five years.

A person can be the President of Croatia for two terms only.

About Croatia 

Croatia is a European country located in the Balkan peninsula along the Adriatic Sea.

After the Second World War, Croatia became a part of Yugoslavia.

It gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 after a bloody civil war between Croats and Serb-dominated Yugoslavia.

It joined the European Union in 2013 and became the 20th European Union member country to join the euro on 1 January 2023.

Capital: Zagreb

Currency: Euro

President :  Zoran Milanovic

Prime Minister : Andrej Plenković