July 18 (SeeNews) - Croatia's president Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic has scheduled early parliamentary elections for September 11.
Grabar Kitarovic announced the date of the snap vote on Saturday, a day after the decision to dissolve parliament - which was taken in June - formally came into effect, a press release on the presidency's website shows.
Croatia's center-right government dissolved last month following a no confidence vote in prime minister Tihomir Oreskovic, which was triggered by a dispute between ruling coalition partners Most and HDZ over alleged corporate interests of HDZ's then leader Tomislav Karamarko.
On June 20, with a total of 137 votes 'for' and only 2 'against', Croatia's parliament voted to dissolve itself on July 15. The vote was scheduled at the request of a majority of MPs and Grabar Kitarovic, who said at the time that no party had convinced her it has the majority to form a new government.
In Friday's rating update, Standard & Poor said that they see the possibility of another hung parliament that may lead to a prolonged period of political uncertainty following the forthcoming election.
"In our view, this may stall structural reforms and hamper the government's ability to implement effective policies that would deliver sustainable public finances and promote balanced economic growth," S&P said, affirming Croatia's BB long-term and B short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings and maintaining the negative outlook.