Il Nuovo Postiglione - Croatia elects president, with incumbent favourite

His likely main rival among the eight contenders for the largely ceremonial post is Dragan Primorac, backed by the ruling conservative HDZ party.

The election comes as the European Union and NATO member country of 3.8 million people struggles with biting inflation, widespread corruption and a labour shortage.

Milanovic, backed by the left-wing Social Democrats party, is supported by 37 percent of the electorate while Primorac has 20 percent, according to an opinion poll released Friday.

But as none of the candidates are expected to garner more than 50 percent of the vote to win outright, the new head of state is likely to be chosen in a runoff in two weeks.

"There will be two races," Milanovic told reporters after casting his ballot in downtown Zagreb, referring to the probable runoff.

He urged people to take part in the vote, saying "it's worth it".

During the campaign the two main rivals often traded insults, with Milanovic ridiculing Primorac as boring and as "fake as a 13-euro note".

- Balance of power -

By 1530 GMT, turnout was 36 percent, the electoral commission said, down from nearly 39 percent at the same time during the 2019 presidential election.

Croatia's president commands the country's armed forces and has a say in foreign policy.

But despite limited powers, many believe the office is key for the political balance of power in a country mainly governed by the HDZ since independence in 1991.

"All the eggs should not be in one basket," Nenad Horvat, a salesman in his 40s, told AFP.

He sees Milanovic, a former leftist prime minister, as the "last barrier that all levers of power fall into the hands of HDZ", echoing the view of many.

The 58-year-old Milanovic has been one of Croatia's leading and most colourful political figures for nearly two decades.

Sharp-minded and eloquent, he won the presidency for the Social Democrats (SDP) in 2020 with pledges to advocate tolerance and liberalism.

But he used the office to attack political opponents and EU officials, often with offensive and populist rhetoric.

Milanovic, who condemned Russia's aggression against Ukraine, has nonetheless criticised the West's military aid to Kyiv.

That prompted Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic to label him a pro-Russian who is "destroying Croatia's credibility in NATO and the EU".

Milanovic countered that he wanted to protect Croatia from being "dragged into war".

"As long as I'm president no Croatian soldier will wage somebody else's wars," he said this month.

Jure Tomicic, a 35-year-old IT expert from Zagreb, worries about the ongoing conflicts.

"As the head of state we need a leader who will understand the situation more seriously, and not make jokes," he told AFP after voting.

Milanovic regularly pans Plenkovic and his HDZ party over systemic corruption, calling the premier a "serious threat to Croatia's democracy".

"I'm a guarantee of the control of the octopus of corruption... headed by Andrej Plenkovic," he said during the campaign.

- President-PM feud -

For many, the election is a continuation of the longstanding feud between two powerful politicians.

"This is still about the conflict between the prime minister and president," political analyst Zarko Puhovski told AFP. "All the rest are just incidental topics."

Primorac, a 59-year-old physician and scientist returning to politics after 15 years, campaigned as a "unifier" promoting family values and patriotism.

"Croatia needs unity, global positioning and a peaceful life," he told reporters after casting his ballot in Zagreb, adding that he would later attend a mass.

Primorac repeatedly accused Milanovic of "disgracing Croatia", a claim that resonated with his supporters.

Voting stations close at 7:00 pm (1800 GMT) when exit polls are expected. Official results are due late Sunday.

M.Lombardi--INP