ZAGREB
Voting began Sunday in Croatia's presidential runoff election that will decide a close fight between the liberal Social Democratic Party and conservative Croatian Democratic Union candidates.
The polls opened at 7 a.m. local time.
The battle for victory is between Social Democratic Party’s incumbent President Ivo Josipovic and Kolinda-Grabar Kitarovic, candidate of the Croatian Democratic Union.
Josipovic and Grabar won majority of votes in the first round of elections on Dec. 28.
According to the Election Commission, Josipovic enjoyed a narrow lead with 38.46 percent votes, followed by Grabar-Kitarovic, who got 37.22 percent votes.
Polls will remain open for 12 hours, until 7 p.m. local time at 6,350 polling stations, out of which 6,260 are in Croatia and 90 abroad.
Croatians are selecting a new president for the sixth time since 1990, when the first democratic elections were held in the country after it became independent from Yugoslavia.
The president is elected for a five-year term in Croatia. According to the country’s constitution, a candidate can serve as president for a maximum of two terms.
Josipovic has been president since 2010; his term expires on Feb. 18.
The first results of the elections are expected at 10 p.m. local time Sunday.
Josipovic, 57, is a law professor and a composer, while Grabar-Kitarovic, 46, is a former NATO assistant secretary-general.
The presidential post is largely a ceremonial one in Croatia, however, the elections are being seen as a test for the center-left coalition government ahead of the general elections to be held later in 2015 amid criticisms of its handling of the country's economy.
