Presidential elections were held in Croatia in December 2019 and January 2020. The decision to call the elections was made by the Croatian Government during its session on 14 November 2019. Potential candidates were required to gather at least 10,000 signatures from Croatian citizens who have reached the age of 18 in order for their candidacy to become official and for their name to appear on the ballot. They were allocated a time frame of twelve days to accomplish this and thus had until midnight local time on 3 December 2019 to present their signatures to the State Electoral Commission. A total of twelve candidates submitted signatures by the deadline and the commission then proceeded to verify the signatures within the following 48 hours, presenting a final list of eleven approved candidates on 5 December 2019.
In the first round of the election, which was held on 22 December 2019, former prime minister Zoran Milanović finished in first place with 30% of the vote. He was followed closely by incumbent president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who received 27% of the vote and by Miroslav Škoro with 25%. As no candidate received an absolute majority, a run-off took place on 5 January 2020 between Milanović and Grabar-Kitarović. Milanović won the second round with 53% of the vote and was elected the fifth president of Croatia since independence in 1991, while Grabar-Kitarović became the second consecutive president not to have been reelected for a second term, after Ivo Josipović (2010–2015). The number of votes received by Milanović in both the first and the second round was the lowest of any victorious presidential candidate to date, while the number of votes and vote share of Grabar-Kitarović in the first round was the lowest for any incumbent president running for re-election.
Presidential elections were held in Croatia in December 2019 and January 2020. The decision to call the elections was made by the Croatian Government during its session on 14 November 2019. Potential candidates were required to gather at least 10,000 signatures from Croatian citizens who have reached the age of 18 in order for their candidacy to become official and for their name to appear on the ballot. They were allocated a time frame of twelve days to accomplish this and thus had until midnight local time on 3 December 2019 to present their signatures to the State Electoral Commission. A total of twelve candidates submitted signatures by the deadline and the commission then proceeded to verify the signatures within the following 48 hours, presenting a final list of eleven approved candidates on 5 December 2019.
In the first round of the election, which was held on 22 December 2019, former prime minister Zoran Milanović finished in first place with 30% of the vote. He was followed closely by incumbent president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who received 27% of the vote and by Miroslav Škoro with 25%. As no candidate received an absolute majority, a run-off took place on 5 January 2020 between Milanović and Grabar-Kitarović. Milanović won the second round with 53% of the vote and was elected the fifth president of Croatia since independence in 1991, while Grabar-Kitarović became the second consecutive president not to have been reelected for a second term, after Ivo Josipović (2010–2015). The number of votes received by Milanović in both the first and the second round was the lowest of any victorious presidential candidate to date, while the number of votes and vote share of Grabar-Kitarović in the first round was the lowest for any incumbent president running for re-election.
Background
The incumbent president of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, took office on 19 February 2015 and her term is due to end on 18 February 2020. The presidential term of Zoran Milanović is due to begin on 19 February 2020 and end on 18 February 2025.
Electoral system
The president of Croatia is directly elected by secret ballot to a term of 5 years using a two-round system. The Constitution of Croatia requires that a presidential election be held no sooner than 60 days and no later than 30 days before the expiration of the incumbent president's term. An absolute majority (50% + 1 vote) of all votes cast (including invalid, blank and uncast ballots) is required to win in the first round. If no candidate acquires such a majority, a second-round is to be held in 14 days' time, with the two candidates with the highest number of votes in the first round taking part. The candidate who acquires the highest number of votes in the second round (a majority of valid cast votes) is declared the winner. If one of the candidates who has won a high enough number of votes to take part in the second round were to abandon his candidacy or die, the candidate with the next highest number of votes in the first round will earn the right to take part in the second round. Furthermore, Croatian presidents may serve a maximum of two 5-year terms in their lifetime (a total of 10 years if both terms are won and served out in full).
In order for a potential candidate to be legally allowed to contest the election and have their name placed on the ballot, they must gather at least 10,000 signatures from eligible voters, with every such signatory being permitted to give his signature of support to only one potential candidate. The time frame for collecting the said number of signatures is set at 12 days, and after the expiry of this period potential candidates must submit them to the State Electoral Commission for verification.
Candidates
On 5 December, the State Electoral Commission published a list of 11 candidates.
Withdrawn bids
Vlaho Orepić withdrew on 2 December. He had initially scheduled the submission of his signatures of endorsement to the State Electoral Commission for 3 December 2019, however after having managed to collect only 8,054 signatures by the evening of 2 December, he determined that he would be unlikely to reach the required quota of 10,000 signatures by the set deadline and he thus withdrew his candidacy. He is a member of the Croatian Parliament (2017–) and the former Minister of the Interior (2016–2017). He had announced his bid on 11 July.
Tomislav Panenić withdrew on 3 December. He is a current member of the Croatian Parliament (2016–) and the former Minister of Economy (2016). His had announced his bid on 26 June.
Ante Simonić withdrew on 3 December. He is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia, having served in the Second Račan cabinet. He had announced his bid on 14 July.
Failed candidacies
These individuals failed to submit the required number of endorsement signatures.
Slobodan Midžić, a perennial potential candidate who submitted just one signature of endorsement to the State Electoral Commission on 3 December 2019. He had previously unsuccessfully attempted to become an official candidate in the 2009 and the 2014 elections.
Josip Juretić, an activist. His bid was announced on 7 September.
Ivan Rude, a lawyer from Šibenik. His bid was announced on 16 September.
Ava Karabatić, a TV personality, singer, and model from Zadar. Her bid was announced on 30 September. Subsequently, she endorsed Zoran Milanović.
David Lucijan Rožman, a student. His bid was announced on 1 October.
Antun Babić, a former deputy chief of mission-minister plenipotentiary in the Croatian embassy in Ireland. His bid was announced on 14 February 2019
Goran Jurišić, a member of HSP 1861. His bid was announced on 3 January 2019.
Marko Vučetić, a member of the Croatian Parliament (2016 onwards). His bid was announced on 14 November 2018.
Ante Pavlović, controversial charismatic Croatian self-proclaimed chiropractor and martial arts expert.
Declined candidacies
These individuals have been the subject of presidential speculation, but have publicly denied or recanted interest in running for president.
Ivo Josipović, Member of the Croatian Parliament (2003–2010), President of Croatia (2010–2015), and a SDP member. Zoran Milanović ultimately became the SDP's candidate.
Predrag Matić, MEP (2019 onwards), Minister of Veterans' Affairs (2011–2015), member of the Croatian Parliament (2015–2019), and an SDP member. Zoran Milanović ultimately became the SDP's candidate.
Tonino Picula, MEP (2013 onwards), Minister of Foreign Affairs (2000–2003), and an SDP member. Zoran Milanović ultimately became the SDP's candidate.
Krešo Beljak, President of the HSS and a member of the Croatian Parliament (2016 onwards). HSS ultimately endorsed the SDP's candidate, Zoran Milanović.
Anka Mrak-Taritaš, President of the Glas and a member of the Croatian Parliament (2016 onwards), Minister of Construction and Spatial Planning (2012–2015). Glas ultimately endorsed the SDP's candidate, Zoran Milanović.
Božo Petrov, President of the Most, Member of the Croatian Parliament (2015 onwards), Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia (2016), Speaker of the Croatian Parliament (2016–2017). Most ultimately endorsed independent candidate Miroslav Škoro.
Ruža Tomašić, MEP (2013 onwards), Member of the Croatian Parliament (2003–2007, 2011–2013), and a HKS member. HKS ultimately endorsed independent candidate Miroslav Škoro.
Milan Bandić, Mayor of Zagreb (2000–2002, 2005 onwards) and the president of BM 365 (2015 onwards). Bandić ultimately endorsed independent candidate Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović.
Dejan Jović, Chief Political Analyst and Special Coordinator in the Office of the President of Croatia (2010–2014). Considered a possible candidate for the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS).
Campaign
First round
Endorsements
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović
Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ)
Croatian People's Party (HNS)
Bandić Milan 365 - Labour and Solidarity Party (BM 365)
Croatian Party of Rights Dr. Ante Starčević (HSP AS)
Croatian Christian Democratic Party (HDS)
Ljubo Ćesić Rojs, retired army general
Josip Jurčević, historian
Zdravko Tomac, publicist and former politician
Zdravko Mamić, former Croatian football administrator and sports agent
Miroslav Blažević, former football manager
Lino Červar, professional handball coach and former politician
Oliver Mlakar, TV host
Igor Vori, former professional handball player
Mislav Kolakušić
Zoran Milanović
Katarina Peović
Workers' Front (RF)
Socialist Labour Party (SRP)
New Left (NL)
Ljiljana Nikolovska, singer
Ivica Prtenjača, author
Nadežda Čačinovič, philosopher, professor University of Zagreb
Aleksandar "Saša" Kabiljo, composer
Tomislav Jakić, journalist, former adviser to the 2nd Croatian president Stjepan Mesić
Drago Plečko, author, parapsychologist
Ines Prica, anthropologist at Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research
Zoran Restović, president of the Association of the Anti-Fascist Fighters of Šibenik-Knin County
Sead Lipovača, guitarist and the founder of Divlje Jagode
Krešimir Sučević Međeral, researcher at Institute for Croatian Language and Linguistics and a TV personality (chaser at the Croatian version of the game show The Chase)
Alen Marin, musician, lead singer of Kojoti
Boris Cerovec, leader of the Jadranski Sindikat trade union
Boris Kuk, designer
Borivoj Radaković, author
Ankica Čakardić, Marxist-feminist philosopher, assistant professor at Zagreb University
Boris Postnikov, essayist and literary critic
Velimir Visković, literary critic and lexicographer
Franci Blašković, musician
Marina Banićević, film director
Davor Jurkotić, comedian and TV host
Mario Lipovšek Battifiaca, musician, comedian and TV host
Rada Borić, feminist activist, linguist, member of the Zagreb Assembly
Siniša Miličić, leader of the Regional Industrial Trade Union
Viktor Ivančić, publicist and journalist, founder of Feral Tribune
Association of the Families of Deceased Croatian War Veterans
Association of the Widows of Croatian War Veterans
Bridge of Independent Lists (Most)
Green list (ZL)
Independent list Bura (NLB)
Jacques Houdek, singer
Vedran Mlikota, actor
Željko Pervan, comedian
Ruža Tomašić, Croatian MEP
Velimir Bujanec, right-wing television pundit
Božidar Alić, actor
Anica Kovač, model
Antonija Šola, actress and singer
Ivan Aralica, academician, novelist and essayist
Nada Gačešić-Livaković, actress
Željko Glasnović, retired major general and right-wing politician
Zlatko Hasanbegović, right-wing politician and former Minister of Culture
Marko Ljubić, journalist
Davor Domazet-Lošo, publicist and retired admiral of the Croatian Navy
Ana Lederer, theatrologist and former intendant of Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb
Tomislav Sunić, far-right activist and professor
Stjepan Tuđman, politician and son of the first Croatian president Franjo Tuđman
Vlatka Vukelić, historian, activist and assistant professor at Zagreb University
Karlo Starčević, politician and president of * Croatian Party of Rights (HSP)
Debates
After official validation of candidates by the State Electoral Commission, the first debate was a confrontation between Katarina Peović (RF and SRP) and Anto Đapić (Democratic Alliance for National Renewal), the most left-wing and the most-right wing candidate respectively, which was filmed by and broadcast on N1 television on 5 December 2019.
On 17 December, the Croatian Radiotelevision held the general debate with all 11 candidates participated. It was the only debate where all first-round candidates participated.
Second round
Endorsements
Zoran Milanović
Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS)
Croatian Party of all Chakavians, Kajkavians and Shtokavians
Stipe Mesić, second President of Croatia
Ivo Josipović, third President of Croatia
Lista za Rijeku - Lista per Fiume
Milorad Pupovac, president of Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS)
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović
Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS)
Julienne Bušić, American writer, activist, widow and co-conspirator of Zvonko Bušić
Damir Bićanić, handball player
Anto Đapić, first round candidate
Ivan Aralica, novelist, former Member of Croatian Parliament
Vladimir Paar, physicist, university professor at Zagreb University
Tomislav Josić, right-wing political activist, president of the Headquarters for the Defence of Croatian Vukovar
Slavko Goluža, former handball player
Matija Prskalo, actress
Željko Krznarić, physician, professor at Zagreb University
Marijana Petir, former Member of the European Parliament and former Member of Croatian Parliament (HDZ), endorsed Miroslav Škoro in the first round
Stipe Božić, mountaineer and film-maker
Ivan Gudelj, former footballer
Vesna Bosanac, war time Director of General Hospital in Vukovar
Marko Perkovic Thompson, singer
Mate Bulić, singer
Zlatko Dalić, football manager, selector of Croatia national football team
Dubravko Šimenc, former water polo player
Zvonko Ćurković, former commander of paramilitary Croatian Defence Forces, Vukovar
Ivan Velić, Bosnian and Croatian basketball coach and former player
Marin Rozić, basketball player, Cibona
Božidar Alić, actor, endorsed Miroslav Škoro in the first round
Slavko Linić, former member of Cabinet of Zoran Milanović
Debates
On 30 December, RTL held the first general debate with two second round candidates participated. Croatian Radiotelevision held the second debate on 2 January 2020. The third and final general debate was held on Nova TV on 3 January.