November 14 (SeeNews) - Croatian citizens will go to the polls on December 22 to elect the country's next president, prime minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday.
"The first round of the presidential elections will take place on December 22," Plenkovic told the regular weekly cabinet meeting, according to a video file uploaded on the government's website.
Incumbent head of state Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic remains favourite to win the vote, according to the outcome of an opinion poll conducted a month ago among 1,400 people by Promocija Plus agency.
Grabar-Kitarovic maintains the lead with 29.8%, followed by former prime minister Zoran Milanovic with 25.8%, the survey showed. In the presidential race, Grabar-Kitarovic is supported by the governing centre-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), while opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) is backing Milanovic.
Other popular presidential candidates include musician Miroslav Skoro and former judge Mislav Kolakusic who heads the independent alliance NLMK. In the October survey, they drew support of 19.1% and 7.1%, respectively.