Croatia’s Ruling HDZ Party in Lead in Parliamentary Election: Exit Polls

The center-right party won the most seats in Sunday’s parliamentary vote, exit polls suggest. The opposition said voters had been endangered by the “rush” to hold early elections amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
The ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) is poised for victory in Croatia’s parliamentary election, exit polls indicated on Sunday.
HDZ was slated for 61 seats in the 151-member parliament, followed by 44 from their main rivals in a center-left coalition led by the Social Democrats, according to an exit poll from Ipsos agency.
The far-right Homeland Movement was projected to win 16 seats. Two smaller parties, Mozemo (We Can) and MOST (Bridge) were expected to grab eight seats each.
Support of former singer Miroslav Skoro’s far-right Homeland Movement, which is seen as a natural partner for the HDZ, could be crucial for either party to form the next government. The two parties could alone control a clear majority in the legislature.
Croatia recorded a low turnout of voters amid the coronavirus outbreak. The turnout at 4:30 p.m. local time (1430 UTC/GMT) was around 34%, according to the state election commission. /DW