The ruling center-right Croatian Democratic Community (HDO) party won the most seats in Croatia's new parliament, but will not have a majority, according to preliminary data from the State Election Commission , BTA reported.
HDO will have 60 deputies in the 151-seat Croatian Sabor with 97.38 percent of polling stations processed, according to commission data cited by Croatian state television HRT.
In the previous parliamentary elections, the party won 66 seats.
The current Prime Minister Andrej Plenković was greeted this night with thunderous applause by his fellow party members at the election headquarters in Zagreb.
"What is important is that HDO won convincingly for the third time in a row. From the morning, we set about forming a new parliamentary majority to form our third government," Plenkovic stated.
He said that HDO will continue its policy of the last eight years, with which it has protected Croatian citizens from crises, preserved the Croatian economy, and implemented strategic goals domestically and internationally.
In his words, it is in the interest of the Croatian state and economy to guarantee firm political stability, faster formation of a parliamentary majority, constitution of a parliament and formation of a new government.
"Because only in this way, in these challenging and significantly changed geopolitical circumstances in which the world, Europe and Croatia find ourselves, can we guarantee a quality future both socially and economically for Croatian citizens,” he added .
The main opposition Social Democratic Party and its coalition partners get 42 seats.
The leader of the party, Peja Garbin, pointed out at the end of the election night that they did not want such election results, but they showed that two-thirds of the citizens want change and said that tomorrow he starts talks that will make Croatia better country, reported the Croatian news agency Hina.
The right-wing nationalist party Fatherland Movement won 14 mandates, the right-wing Most - 11 mandates, and the green-left platform Vozem – 10 mandates.
The voter turnout in yesterday's elections was 62.19 percent, the State Election Commission announced.
With such election results, the two leading parties will have to negotiate a coalition government.
If the HLO retains its power, the country will continue its pro-Western course in support of Ukraine in the war with Russia.
If the Social Democratic Party manages to gather a majority, this could give the party a boost in the upcoming European Parliament elections and the presidential elections at the end of the year.
It could also affect the country's foreign policy, as Social Democrat President Zoran Milanovic is critical of the EU and aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia. And after scheduling the parliamentary elections, Milanovic announced that he is the candidate for prime minister of the Social Democratic Party.