Pro-Europese kandidaat scoort goed bij presidentsverkiezingen Kroatië (en)
Croatian centre-left candidate and strong backer of EU accession Ivo Josipovic has won a third of votes cast in the country's presidential election on Sunday (27 December), putting him in pole position ahead of a January run-off.
Mr Josipovic, the opposition Social Democrat leader, won 32.4 percent - the most votes out of the 12 candidates up for the post.
He topped the poll substantially ahead of his nearest rival, Milan Bandic, the mayor of Zagreb since 2000 and a former Social Democrat turned populist, on 14.8 percent, but still fell far short of the necessary 50 percent required to win without a second vote.
Seen by some as bland yet untarnished by corruption, Mr Josipovic, a lawyer by trade, wants to lead the Balkan nation into the European Union should he be elected to the largely ceremonial position.
Despite Mr Bandic's trailing support, it is far from a shoe-in for the official Social Democrat nominee, as voters from right and left may yet rally behind his opponent with the mayor's mix of nationalist rhetoric and promises of food subsidies.
The governing centre-right Croatian Democratic Union's (HDZ) official candidate, Andrija Hebrang, came in third with 12 per cent. All leading candidates however are EU supporters.
Voter turnout dropped six percent on the last presidential election five years ago to 44 percent, according to the national electoral commission.
The main issues of the debate have centred on corruption, with the ruling HDZ party still dealing with the fall-out of scandals earlier in the year, and the economy, which contracted five percent in 2009 and is set for a further fall in the new year.
Croatia's presidency is for the most part a figurehead position, with key powers retained by parliament and the cabinet.
The head of state is nevertheless the chief of the armed forces and has a great deal of influence in foreign policy.
The outgoing popular centrist President Stjepan Mesic, who put Croatia on the path to EU membership, is to exit the political arena in February after the end of his second five-year term.
The run-off vote is scheduled for 10 January.