June 24 (SeeNews) - Croatian musician Miroslav Skoro has announced that he will run in the country's next presidential elections expected to take place in late December 2019 or early January 2020.
Skoro announced his bid in a YouTube video file on Saturday, following a week of speculation in local media suggesting his participation in the campaign promises to make it more intriguing and less predictable.
In the video, Skoro outlines his strategy if elected as president. One of his first moves will be to call on the parliament, and if needed to initial a referendum, for changing the constitution in order to increase the president's powers, since the head of state is the only official in the country elected directly by the people.
"The only representative of the political system who represents the whole nation and the only one who the people still directly elect is the head of the state," Skoro said in his first address to voters. "Power, which comes from the people and belongs to the people."
Some of the presidential powers Skoro will seek to introduce include calling referendums without government authorisation, convening government sessions and chairing them, imposing suspensive veto, and nominating constitutional court judges.
Skoro used to be part of Croatian politics back in 2008 when he served as a member of parliament for the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).
Current president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic is seen as Skoro's strongest competitor in the vote, even though she has not yet officially announced its decision to run for a second term in office. Grabar-Kitarovic, supported by the governing HDZ party, is expected to announce her decision after August 5.
Another strong runner in the pending elections is former prime minister Zoran Milanovic, who announced his bid to participate in the elections earlier this month. He is the presidential candidate of opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Early forecasts given most support to Grabar-Kitarovic and Milanovic, identifying them as the most likely contestants in a possible run-off vote.