Croatian president easily re-elected in low-turnout 'protest vote'

Croatian President Zoran Milanović won a second term in a landslide victory at Sunday's run-off election. He received almost 75 percent of the votes, the highest for a candidate since Croatia's independence in 1991, leaving his only opponent Dragan Primorac trailing on 25 percent. 

Milanović's victory was no surprise: in the first round two weeks ago he received almost 800,000 votes, just 4,000 votes short of winning outright without a run-off. Even so, when the first opinion polls were announced at his election headquarters, the crowd erupted in joy – hardly anyone had expected a three-to-one ratio. 

A couple of hours later, after the official results confirmed a landslide victory, the man of the hour hit the stage in front of the crowd. In a brief, blunt victory speech, he addressed tensions that had escalated between himself and the government over the past five years.

"The government is the most responsible for this country," Milanović insisted – the Croatian presidential role is indeed a largely ceremonial one – "and I am asking the government to hear that. That's the message the citizens sent them this evening. This isn't a support to me. Let's not kid ourselves, nobody has 75 percent support. It's just at this moment, and just today."

The government, led by the HDZ party, supported Dragan Primorac in this presidential race – and more than a personal loss, his crushing defeat is seen here as a condemnation of PM Andrej Plenković and his HDZ. 

Primorac himself, greeting the media earlier on Sunday while casting his own ballot, reflected that this election was about more than a choice between two candidates.

"In this short time, I tried to present myself to the voters in the best possible way," Primorac told journalists. "In these, I would say, at least very strange elections, there were never so many untruths told; it wasn't easy to get by."

Voter turnout was historically low, at around 44 percent – another sign that there wasn't too much peril about the outcome. Milanović will remain in office for another five years, during which Croatian politics will find out how telling this election truly was.

After last April's parliamentary elections, the center-right HDZ party got the most votes but not enough seats for a majority, requiring a coalition with the center-left Independent Democratic Serb Party. Although this parliament could run until 2028, the disaffection suggested by the presidential results have increased calls for a snap election. Croatians may yet be back at the polls before too long.