Croatia governing party wins parliamentary election but needs far-right support to stay in power

(18 Apr 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Zagreb, Croatia - 18 April 2024
1. Croatian Prime Minister and leader of HDZ party, Andrej Plenkovic, waving at supporters at election headquarters as he walks to podium
2. People in the crowd applauding
3. Various of Plenkovic with fellow party ministers on stage
4. Wide of people applauding
5. SOUNDBITE (Croatian) Andrej Plenkovic, Croatian Prime Minister and leader of HDZ party:
"The important thing is that HDZ has, for the third time in a row, convincingly won the parliamentary election."
6. Crowd applauding
7. SOUNDBITE (Croatian) Andrej Plenkovic, Croatian Prime Minister and leader of HDZ party:
"Even more importantly, starting tomorrow morning, we will start working on forming a new parliament majority, so that we can form our third government."
8. Various of Plenkovic and party officials on stage celebrating
9. Plenkovic moving through crowd and greeting supporters

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Zagreb, Croatia - 17 April 2024
10. Leader of the Social Democrat Party (SDP), Pedja Grbin, greeting supporters in crowd at election headquarters
11. SOUNDBITE (Croatian) Pedja Grbin, leader of SDP party:
"And now, let's talk about what's ahead for us. These results are certainly not the way we all wanted them to be. But also, they showed that two thirds of Croatians want change. Two thirds of Croatian people are not happy with what's happening in the country and what they see around them."
12. Various of SDP party members watching results read live on TV
13. SOUNDBITE (Croatian) Pedja Grbin, leader of SDP party:
"We have days, weeks, maybe even months of talks ahead of us. But these talks will lead to change. The sort of change that will make Croatia better, which will make it a country with no corruption, which cares for its people - their salaries, their pensions, the kindergartens their children go to."
14. Various of Grbin and other party officials and candidates dancing on stage
15. Grbin moving through crowd greeting people
STORYLINE:
Croatia's governing conservatives convincingly won a highly contested parliamentary election on Wednesday, but will still need support from far-right groups to stay in power, according to the official vote count.

The election followed a campaign that centered on a bitter rivalry between the country's president and prime minister.

The ballot pitted the ruling conservative Croatian Democratic Union, or HDZ, led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, against an alliance of centrist and left-wing parties informally led by populist President Zoran Milanovic and his Social Democratic Party, or SDP.

With over 90% of the ballots counted, the state electoral commission said that the HDZ won 60 seats in the 151-seat parliament.

The SDP got 42 seats. The far-right Homeland Movement was third, with 14 seats, making it a kingmaker in future talks for the next government.

"Starting tomorrow morning, we will start working on forming a new parliament majority, so that we can form our third government," Plenkovic said in his victory speech.

Turnout was more than 50% — a record — hours before the polls closed.

The election was held as Croatia, a European Union and NATO member, struggles with the highest inflation rate in the eurozone, a labour shortage, illegal migration and reports of widespread corruption.

At stake in the race for Croatia’s 151-seat parliament wasn't just the Adriatic Sea country's future domestic policies, but also the EU’s unity as it grapples with the instability from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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