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Roundup: parliamentary electoral campaigns launched in Croatia

Xinhua, October 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

With the parliamentary election set for Nov. 8 approaching, party campaigns are underway and recent opinion surveys showed the two largest party coalitions, Croatia Is Growing and Patriotic Coalition, are neck and neck for first place.

The coalition Croatia Is Growing, led by Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic's Social Democratic Party (SDP), managed to ally its current ruling coalition partners Croatian People's Party (HNS) and Croatian Party of Pensioners (HSU). However, its other partner in the government, Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS), a regional party, decided not to run with the coalition, but rather on its own.

SDP had 56 seats in the parliament and enjoyed the majority support of 78 members of parliament (MPs) out of a total of 151. It also gathered together with the Croatian Labour Party (HL), the Zagorje Party (ZS) and the Original Croatian Peasant Party (AHSS).

So far during the campaigns, Milanovic has called on voters to give the coalition another four years to grow the country's economy. He promised to improve the business climate in the country and to boost investments and expand exports.

He also promised to create more jobs and reduce the value added tax (VAT) from 25 to 13 percent for some agricultural and food products.

Polls showed the coalition Croatia Is Growing to be slightly behind its main opponent, the center-right Patriotic Coalition, led by the strongest opposition Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).

HDZ, led by Tomislav Karamarko and with 42 seats in the parliament, formed a coalition with seven other parties, two of them -- HSS and the Croatian Party of Rights Ante Starcevic (HSP-AS) with one seat each in the parliament. The other five are non-parliamentary parties.

Patriotic Coalition promised that if the coalition won the elections, the next government would bring about its so-called Croatia+5 goal: increase GDP 5.0 percent in next five years, lower unemployment by 5.0 percent, draw 5.0 billion euro (5.5 billion U.S. dollars) from EU funds, raise pensions by 5 percent, and reduce the value added tax (VAT) from 13 to 5 percent.

Political analysts here predicted that besides the two strongest coalitions, two regional parties, Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS) and Croatian Democratic Assembly of Slavonia and Baranja (HDSSB) were expected to enter the parliament.

A total of 151 members of parliament will be directly elected for a term of four years. The ten regular constituencies elect 14 members each, the Croatian diaspora elects three members, while ethnic minorities elect eight members of parliament, according to the constitution. Endit