Zagreb, 17 April 2024 (dpa/MIA) – Croatia is set to hold parliamentary elections on Wednesday in a contest overshadowed by a bitter rivalry between President Zoran Milanović, a Social Democrat friendly towards Moscow, and conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

The latest polls put Plenković's conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) ahead of the opposition Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP).

Milanović made a surprise announcement a month before the elections that he would seek the post of prime minister as the head of the SDP. As president, he has made right-wing populist and pro-Kremlin remarks.

Croatian voters were set to go to the polls in the autumn. However, observers believe that Plenković, who only had a narrow majority in parliament before it was dissolved in March, wanted the snap election to forestall the threat of a further drop in popularity.

He has been heavily criticized recently for his media and judicial policies, with only a narrow majority of lawmakers backing him.

Polling stations open at 7 am (0500 GMT) for the nation's 3.7 million eligible voters and are set to close at 7 pm.

Initial results are expected later in the evening.

Photo: EPA