FACTBOX - Croatia ahead of April 17 general election

NUMBER OF VOTERS: 3.51 million in Croatia plus 222,197 Croatian citizens residing abroad.

PREVIOUS ELECTION: Held on July 5, 2020. Conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won 66 of 151 seats in the single-chamber assembly, followed by the Restart coalition led by Social Democrats (SDP) with 41 seats.

ELECTORAL SYSTEM: Proportionate, with a 5%-threshold.

Each of the ten constituencies in the country elects 14 representatives. Voters living abroad form a separate constituency that sends three representatives to Parliament. National minorities in Croatia are entitled to eight representatives in Parliament, which are elected in a separate constituency.

RUNNING: 165 lists (parties, coalitions and independents) with 2,292 candidates.

MAIN PARTIES:

- Centre-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) with pro-Western agenda. It is led by Andrej Plenkovic, who has been prime minister since October 2016. Under his collation government, the Adriatic country of 3.8 million people entered the eurozone and the visa-free Schengen area on January 1, 2023.

- Social Democrats (SDP). Main opposition party which emerged from the former Communist party. It is pro-EU oriented.

- The Homeland Movement, an eurosceptic and right-wing populist political formation.

- Most (Bridge), a conservative populist political party.

- Mozemo (We Can), a left-wing, green political party.

PRE-ELECTION POLLS:

HDZ could win 60 seats in Parliament, to be followed by SDP with 44. The Homeland Movement could come third with 14 seats, ahead of Most and Mozemo with 9 seats each, according to the results of a Hrejting poll carried out by marketing agency Promocija Plus. The results were announced by public television HRT on April 10.

SUPER-ELECTION YEAR 2024

Croatia will also European Parliament elections on June 9 and presidential elections at the end of this year.