Polling stations opened at 7:00 am (0500 GMT) and close twelve hours later.
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A coalition government, formed by Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and its junior partner Most (Bridge of Independent Lists – Most nezavisnih lista) after the last election in November 2015, stepped down in June following a no-confidence vote after which an early election was called.
Croats go to the polls this weekend in a snap election that, despite the country’s many problems, has been more about past divisions than future challenges facing the European Union’s newest member state. “It’s a handsome day, so I expect the turnout to be bigger than if it was rainy”.
Croatia’s previous center-right government collapsed last spring after only six months in power, paralyzed by internal bickering and conflict of interest allegations leveled against its main politician.
Croatian courts this year quashed a 1946 treason verdict against Alojzije Stepinac – the Catholic cardinal who backed the country’s 1941-5 fascist regime – and the 2010 conviction of far-right ex-deputy Branimir Glavas over the torture and murder of Serbs at the start of Croatia’s 1991-5 war of independence from a crumbling Yugoslavia.
In recent months the two neighbours have exchanged bitter accusations over their wartime past, with Belgrade accusing Zagreb of a “rebirth of Nazism”.
The main parties in Croatia are the left-wing Social Democrats and the right-wing Croatian Democratic Union, commonly known as HDZ.
Less than a week before the vote, Serbia sentenced a Croatian to three years in jail for spying.
The likeliest outcome is a similar scenario to that of the previous vote – prolonged talks on forming a government and potentially another election.
But the HDZ hopes a new leader, European Parliamentarian Andrej Plenkovic, can make up lost ground and renew the coalition.
“I’m changing the HDZ”.
This means that some of the smaller groups could play the role of kingmakers, as was the case with the Most group in the previous government.
With Plenkovic’s moderate agenda, HDZ could also count on the backing of minorities, notably Serbs, as well as Croatians living overseas, its traditional supporters.
Political deadlock has delayed reforms that are necessary for Croatia to catch up with the rest of the EU. The Social Democrats, led by former Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic, were in power for four years until last November.
After a six-year recession, Croatia has shown signs of recovery with reported growth of more than 2 percent.
Morana, a 27-year-old teacher from Zagreb, said she was voting for SDP.
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Unemployment stands at more than 13 percent, public debt has reached 85 percent of GDP, while the investment climate remains poor.
