Croatia's Ruling Democratic Union Wins General Elections

Croatia's ruling central-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party won the general election held on Wednesday, the State Election Commission (DIP) announced early Thursday.

After 95.54% of the votes counted, HDZ won 60 seats for the 151-seat national parliament, less than the 64 it previously had.

The opposition coalition led by the Social Democrats (SDP) won 42 seats, while the right-wing Homeland Movement came in third with 14 seats.

The national parliament will also include 8 deputies from minority parties and three from the Croatian diaspora.

"The important thing is that HDZ convincingly wins the parliamentary elections for the third time in a row. We will start to form a new parliamentary majority from the morning hours to form the government for the third time," said HDZ Chairman and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.

SDP Chairman Pedja Grbin said that there will be talks that will last days, weeks, and maybe even months.

"But these talks will end in change. This change will make Croatia a better country. Croatia can and will be a better place to live," said Grbin.

A coalition government is expected to be formed as no political party or alliance can obtain the required majority on its own.

Croatia, the youngest member of the EU, holds general elections every four years.

HDZ also won the general elections in 2016 and 2020.

Voters in Croatia cast their votes on Wednesday to elect new members of its 151-seat parliament from 2,302 candidates, with 42% of them women. -