By Fedja Grulovic
ZAGREB (Reuters) -Croatians were voting on Sunday in a presidential runoff election, with opinion polls giving incumbent Zoran Milanovic a lead over Dragan Primorac, the ruling party’s challenger for the largely ceremonial position.
Polling stations opened at 0600 GMT and will close at 1800 GMT, with exit polls expected minutes later. Preliminary results will be known by about 1900 GMT and full, official results are expected in the following days.
Around 3.8 million people in the NATO and European Union member are eligible to vote in Sunday’s second round. The state election commission said turnout by 11.30 a.m. (1030 GMT) was 13.8%.
In the first round two weeks ago, Milanovic of the Social Democratic Party came first with 49.1% support, with Primorac – who represents the ruling Croatia’s Democratic Union – in second place on 19.35%.
An opinion poll published on Friday by Nova TV Daily News showed Milanovic winning the deciding runoff vote with 67.4%. It gave Primorac support of less than 27%.
After casting his ballot in the capital, Zagreb, Milanovic told reporters he was confident of winning another term in office.
“In the past five years I did my job in the best faith and I hope that people have seen it,” he said.
The Croatian head of state cannot veto laws but has a say in foreign policy, defence and security matters.
During his term, Milanovic, a populist former prime minister, has confronted Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic over foreign and public policies, with the two frequently trading insults.
Primorac, a former science teacher, also cast his vote in Zagreb.
“The sole decision-makers will be the citizens of Croatia,” he told reporters.
(Reporting by Fedja Grulovic and Ivana Sekularac; Editing by William Mallard and Helen Popper)
