October 3 (SeeNews) - Croatian president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic said she will run for a second term in office in the next presidential elections expected to take place in late December.
"I am determined to continue during the second term in office to firmly lead Croatia in the direction of active and responsible international policy. I will continue to be a guarantee of national sovereignty, of the preservation of our identity and our way of life," Grabar-Kitarovic told a news conference on Wednesday. A video file with her speech was posted on her Facebook page..
She added her candidacy is again supported by the governing Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party.
Grabar-Kitarovic's strongest competitor in the pending elections is former prime minister Zoran Milanovic. He is the presidential candidate of the strongest opposition party - the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Analysts' early projections identify Grabar-Kitarovic and Milanovic as the most likely contestants in a possible run-off vote.
Another popular presidential candidate is musician Miroslav Skoro who has pledged to vest in the president more powers such as the right to call referendums without government authorisation, to convene government sessions and chair them, to impose suspensive veto and to nominate constitutional court judges. In 2008 Skoro served as member of parliament elected on the HDZ ticket.