(ANSA-AFP) - ZAGREB, JAN 12 - Croatians vote Sunday in a
presidential runoff with the incumbent Zoran Milanovic appearing
set to win a second term, in what would be a blow to the
scandal-hit governing party. Milanovic enters the contest with
surging momentum as he faces off with Dragan Primorac, supported
by the HDZ party that governs Croatia. The outspoken incumbent,
backed by the left-wing opposition, won more than 49 percent of
the vote two weeks ago during the contest's first round --
narrowly missing an outright victory. Primorac garnered less
than 20 percent of the ballots, making it unlikely that he could
make up ground in the runoff. A landslide win by Milanovic would
be the latest setbacks for the HDZ and Prime Minister Andrej
Plenkovic -- Milanovic's political arch-rival -- after a
high-profile corruption scandal in November. According to a
survey published Thursday, Milanovic was projected to capture
more than 62 percent of ballots cast compared to nearly 28
percent for Primorac. The vote comes as the European Union
member nation of 3.8 million people struggles with the highest
inflation rate in the eurozone, endemic corruption and a labour
shortage. (ANSA-AFP).
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